In order to form the present perfect in German, you will need to use a helping verb (Hilfsverb) and a past participle (Partizip II). These components are also used to form the present perfect in English but the placement in different. Look at this sentence in English Look at this sentence in English. I have played Soccer. Helping Verb Past Participle

Compare the English Example with it’s German Counterpart. I have played Soccer. Helping Verb Past Participle Ich habe Fussball gespielt. Partizip II Hilfsverb In German the Past Participle is placed at the end of the sentence.

Forming the past participle of a German Verb can be complicated. But let’s review some rules for doing so for Regular Verbs. (It is best to memorize the past participle for Irregular verbs) Spielen – to play 1 st – remove the en from the infinitive form of the verb – this gives you the stem of the verb. spiel 2 nd – add a ge to the front of the stem gespiel 3 rd – add a t to the end of the stem gespielt The great majority of regular verbs follow this pattern

If the verb ends in ieren…then you must form the past participle differently. studieren – to study 1 st – remove the en from the infinitive form of the verb – this gives you the stem of the verb. studier 2 nd – you do not add a ge to the front but you do add a t to the stem. studiert

If the verb contains a separable prefix, such as an, auf, zu, mit, aus, bei, hin, nach, vor, zurück, fort or ein, then you must form the past participle differently as well. aufmachen 1 st – remove the en from the infinitive form of the verb – this gives you the stem of the verb. aufmach 2 nd – then add a t on the end of the stem aufmacht 3 rd – place the ge between the prefix and the rest of the verb. aufgemacht

If the verb contains an inseparable prefix, such as be, ent, er, ver, zer or emp, then you must form the past participle differently as well. bezahlen – to pay 1 st – remove the en from the infinitive form of the verb – this gives you the stem of the verb. bezahl 2 nd – then add a t on the end of the stem. You do not add a ge. bezahlt

If the verb ends in nen, ten or den, then you must also form the past participle differently. arbeiten – to work 1 st – remove the en from the infinitive form of the verb – this gives you the stem of the verb. arbeit 2 nd – then add an et to the end of the stem. arbeitet 2 nd – then add a ge to the front of the stem. gearbeitet

Sometimes verbs may contain a combination of these rules. mitarbeiten – to work with mitgearbeitet entwerten – to take away value entwertet