1. The Perfekt (Part 1)
Startblock In English, there are several ways of talking about events in the past: I ate, I have eaten, I was eating. In German, all of these meanings can be expressed with the Perfekt tense. 1

2. The Perfekt (Part 1) The Perfekt tense
To form the Perfekt, use a present tense form of haben or sein with the past participle of the verb that expresses the action.
Ich habe zu viel Kuchen gegessen.
I ate too much cake.
Wir haben den Kindern Geschenke gekauft.
We bought the kids presents.

3. Forming past participles
The Perfekt (Part 1)
Forming past participles
German verbs can be grouped into three main categories, based on the way their past participles are formed.
Ich habe eine Torte gemacht.
I made a cake.
Wir haben Kekse gegessen.
We ate cookies.
Er hat eine CD gebrannt.
He burned a CD.

4. The Perfekt (Part 1)
Most German verbs are weak. Form the past participle of a weak verb by adding ge before the verb stem and -t or -et after the stem.
Haben Sie eine Flasche Sekt gekauft?
Did you buy a bottle of champagne?
Ich habe mit den Gästen geredet.
I chatted with the guests.

5. The Perfekt (Part 1) ACHTUNG
The -et ending is added to verb stems ending in -d, -t, or a consonant cluster, to make pronunciation easier: Es hat geregnet.

6. The Perfekt (Part 1)
Verbs ending in -ieren are almost always weak. Their past participles end in -t, but omit the ge- prefix.
Der Lehrer hat die Hausaufgaben korrigiert.
The teacher corrected the homework.
Wie lange habt ihr in Deutschland studiert?
How long did you study in Germany? 6

7. The Perfekt (Part 1)
To form the past participle of a strong verb, add ge- before the verb stem and -en after. Strong verbs may be regular or irregular in the present, but verbs that have a stem change in the present tense are almost always strong verbs in the Perfekt.
Wir haben unsere Freunde gesehen.
We saw our friends.
Ich habe meinen Eltern geholfen.
I helped my parents. 7

8. Note that many strong verbs have a stem change in the past participle.
The Perfekt (Part 1)
Note that many strong verbs have a stem change in the past participle.
Habt Ihr den Bus nach Hause genommen?
Did you take the bus home?
Sie hat viele Bücher geschrieben.
She’s written a lot of books. 8

9. The Perfekt (Part 1) ACHTUNG
You cannot tell which category a verb belongs to by looking at the
infinitive. You must learn the past participle of a verb along with its
present tense forms.

10. The Perfekt (Part 1)
There is a small group of verbs called mixed verbs. The past participles of mixed verbs have a ge- prefix and end in -t like weak verbs, but they have irregular stems like many
strong verbs.
Habt ihr an die Hochzeit gedacht?
Were you thinking about the wedding?
Sie haben ihr Kind Elisabeth genannt.
They named their child Elisabeth. 10