German sentences in the past tense. The contrast of past tenses in German

As mentioned in the previous lesson, the past tense includes three types of tense forms: Präteritum, Perfekt, Plusquamperfekt. This lesson will focus on the first of them.

Rules for the formation of Präteritum

As you remember, verbs in German are divided into strong and weak: the type of the verb affects how the past tense form is formed. The main forms of the verb are infinitive, preterite (Prateritum) and participle II (Partizip II), which is used to form some other temporary forms. Strong verbs change the vowel in the root, weak verbs do not change vowels and form three forms according to the model: by adding prefixes to the stem of the verb ge- and suffix -t. For example:
gehen-ging-gegangen- strong verb
machen - machte - gemacht- weak verb

If the stem of the verb ends in -t or -d, before suffix -t a connecting vowel appears "e". For example: arbeiten - arbeitete - gearbeitet. Remember, the stress falls on the first syllable after the prefix, and it is pronounced with a hard attack.

To distinguish a strong verb from a weak one, you can consult a dictionary where root vowel changes are indicated after strong verbs. For example: waschen (u,a)- wash. If you decipher it, you'll get waschen (wusch, gewaschen). In addition, the list of strong verbs is ordered in various tables; you can find one of these tables in Lesson 3.

Some verbs form the participle without adding a prefix -ge.

It:
1) all weak verbs ending in -ieren: studieren - studierte - studiert;
2) strong and weak verbs with inseparable prefixes be-, ent-, er-, miss-, ver-, zer-: bekommen - bekam - bekommen;
3) weak verbs with prefixes de(s)-, dis-, in-, re-: reparieren - reparierte - repariert.

For verbs with separable prefixes in the second form (preterite), the prefix is ​​placed after the main form, and in the third - after the prefix ge-: einladen - lud ein - eingeladen.

In the sentence, the separable prefix forms a frame structure.

Any printed text is usually written with the preterite: this form forms the narrative, while in colloquial speech the Perfekt is more often used. The preterite varies in person and number, with the 1st and 3rd person singular being the same. The forms of the 1st and 3rd person in the plural are the same too. Consider an example of the conjugation of strong and weak verbs in the preterite.

Here are some more examples of the use of verbs in the preteret:
1) Arnold lud Monika zum Tee ein. Arnold invited Monica for tea.
2) Wir arbeiteten am Samstag im Garten. On Saturday we worked in the garden.
3) Er war nothing zy Hause. - He was not home.
4) Gestern rief sie mich an. She called me yesterday.
5) Sie tanzte die ganze Nacht. — They danced all night.
6) Unsere Freunde kammen uns besuchen. Our friends came to visit us.

Now it's time to check how well you learned the lesson information. Be careful and do not hesitate to return to the rule!

Tasks for the lesson

Exercise 1. Conjugate the following verbs.(Shapes irregular verbs you can find in lesson 4.)
Glauben, bekommen, fragen, denken, haben.

Exercise 2. Open the brackets using the correct verb ending in the preterite.
1. Gestern (gehen) wir ins Kino.
2. Sie (singular) (arbeiten) sehr viel.
3. Ich (lesen) ein interessantes Buch.
4. Er (trinken) viel Kaffee.
5. Ihr (sein) freundlich.
6. Es (sein) kalt.
7. (spielen) du Klavier?
8. Sie (plural) (schreiben) einen Brief.
9. Ich (wohnen) in Moscow.
10. Er (haben) eine Wohnung in Berlin.

Answer 1.

Answer 2.

1. gingen
2. arbeitete
3.las
4 trunk
5. wart
6. war
7.spieltest
8. schrieben
9. wohnte
10. hatte

The theme of the verb in German is very extensive: these are tenses, participles, and pledges. At first glance, it may seem that all this is impossible to learn on your own, but do not rush to get upset: all grammatical topics are closely related to each other.

Let's look at the theme of tenses in German.

General information about tenses in German

To begin with, it is worth noting that the theme of tenses in German is much easier to understand than in English. Firstly, there is no continuous form of the Continuous verb, and, secondly, the rules for using are not so strict.

Temporal forms in German express the same as in Russian: present, past and future.

However, if the present tense is one, then there are three forms of the past, and two of the future. It's strange, you might think, why do events in the past need three whole times?

To understand this, let's take a closer look at them.

In German it is called Präsens. You start learning a language with presence: remember the place of the verb in the sentence and learn personal endings.

For example:

The simplest sentence in Präsens would look like this:

Wirlesen ein Buch. - We are reading a book.

This tense should be used when an event or action:

• happening right now;
• occurs regularly or recurs;
• still not completed, i.e. started in the past and continues;
• will happen in the near future;
• when it comes to schedules or schedules.

There are three of them in German. But do not worry, it is very difficult to get confused in them.

The German language differs from Russian in the presence of three forms of the past tense: preterite (Präteritum, otherwise Imperfekt), perfect (Perfekt), pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt).

The perfect is a difficult tense. Difficult not in the sense - difficult, but consisting of two words. Here we are dealing with some load - this is an auxiliary verb haben or sein.

Perhaps it is worth recalling the conjugation of these verbs:

So, the perfect is formed as follows:

haben/sein (in present) + PartizipII of the main verb

• Ich habe die Socken gewechselt. - I changed my socks
• Ich bin mit der Freundin in der Kneipe gewesen. I was with my girlfriend at the bar.

Once again: the main verb is the verb that we want to use in the past tense - in this case in the perfect.

In the perfect, it is used in the form of the participle II, i.e. in the third main form:

• trinken-trank- getrunken(drink)
• lugen-log- gelogen(lie)
• fressen-fraß- gefressen is (about animals)

Note! For the correct use of the perfect, it is necessary to remember which verbs form the perfect with an auxiliary verb haben, and which sein.

With the auxiliary verb haben, most verbs are conjugated

All transitive verbs, i.e. accusative controllers

bauen(build),essen(eat),lieben(be in love),machen(to do), öffnen(open),etc.

Ich habe den neuen Starkasten gebaut. - I built a new birdhouse.

All reflexive verbs

sichrasieren(to shave),sichbemü hen(try),sichkä men(comb your hair)etc.

Mein Opa hat sich fast jeden Morgen rasiert. My grandfather shaved almost every morning.

All modal verbs

kö nnen(to be able)mü ssen(be forced to),Sollen(be to),wollen(to want),dü rfen(have permission)mö gene(be in love).

Ich habe meine Tante nie gemocht. “I never loved my aunt.

Intransitive verbs

Intransitive verbs that denote continuous action or a state of rest

liegen(lie),sitzen(sit),stehen(to stand),leben(live),schlafen(sleep)

Er hat drei Stunden am Kiosk gestanden. He stood for three hours at the kiosk.

All impersonal verbs

Regnen(it's raining),donnern(thunder)blitzen(sparkles)etc.

Es hat gestern zwei mal geblitzt. It flashed twice yesterday.

With auxiliary verb sein the following verbs are used

Verbs of motion

reisen (to travel), fliegen (to fly), gehen (to walk), fallen (to fall), fahren (to go), aufstehen (to get up), etc.

Petra ist nach Moldau gefahren. – Petra went to Moldova.

Verbs that indicate a change in state

einschlafen (fall asleep), aufwachen (wake up), ertrinken (drown), sterben(die), aufbühen (flourish), etc.

Michael ist um elf Uhr abends nach der Disko aufgestanden. Michael woke up at 11 pm after the disco.

The verbs sein and bleiben

Ich bin am Mittwoch bei meiner Freundin geblieben. On Wednesday I stayed with my friend.

If the verb of motion emphasizes the duration of the action or gets the effect of transitivity (transitivity), then it can be used with haben:

• Ich bin an das andere Ufer geschwommen. I swam across to the other side of the river.
• Als kleines Kind habe ich nicht so gut geschwommen. - I was a bad swimmer as a child.
• Der Lkw ist schnell gefahren. – The truck was moving fast
• Der Lkw hat einen Füßgänger angefahren. - The truck hit a pedestrian.

Note! The perfect, like the priterite, is used to denote an action in the past tense. Unlike the preterite, it has the effect of completing the action.

Most often, the preterite is used in live speech, in natural dialogues:

Menschen, wo seid ihr gestern gewesen? Ich habe ihr lange gesucht!

Listen, where were you yesterday? I have been looking for you for a long time!

Du, wir sind aufs Land gefahren…

What are you, we went out of town ...

In narrative form, the perfect can open and close a story in the preterite:

Viele Gaste sind zu uns gekommen. Sie waren feierlich gekleidet, lachten laut und unterhielten sich lebhaft miteinander […]. Kurz und gut ist das Fest gut gelungen.

Many guests came to us. They were festively dressed, laughing loudly and talking animatedly with each other. […]. In short, the holiday was a success.

German verbs in the past tense - Präteritum (preterite)

In German, unlike Russian, three forms of the past tense are distinguished: preterite (Präteritum, otherwise Imperfekt), perfect (Perfekt), pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt).

Let's start with the simple past tense or Präteritum, which in Latin means past, past.

Weak verbs form a preterite from their stem with the -te suffix and personal endings, which are shown in the table below.

Verbs whose stem ends in t, d, tm, dm, gn, chn acquire a suffix - ete

As we know, the second main form of the verb is the priterite form:

• kommen- cam-gekommen (come)
• gehen- ging-gegangen (to go)
• sehen- sah-gesehen (to see)

When conjugated, i.e. change by person, a strong verb adds personal endings to this form (exception: 1 and 3 person singular).

Separable prefixes behave in the same way as for weak verbs, i.e. are separated and go to the end of the sentence:

The vast majority of modal verbs in the preterite are conjugated in the same way as weak verbs, i.e. form the priterite form with the suffix -te and receive personal endings:

There is a group of verbs that form a preterite not according to the general rules, but add endings to the second main form, which, as we already know, is a preterite form:

Note! Pay attention again: in the 1st and 3rd person singular. verbs have no personal endings in the preterite. The letter -e, which is in the suffix -te, is not a personal ending of the 1st person!

The preterite serves to form an action performed in the past tense, and is most often used when telling a story in a monologue form or in a narrative:

Gestern war ich im Park. Ich Wollte Eichhornchens beobachten und mich ausruhen. Das Wetter war schön und warm, wie immer im Sommer. Am Himmel zwitscherten die Vogel, die Sonne schien hell. Plotzlich begann es zu schneien…

Yesterday I was in the park. I wanted to take a break and watch the squirrels. The weather was beautiful and warm, as always in summer. Birds were singing in the sky, the sun was shining brightly. Suddenly it started snowing...

Tenses of German verbs

German verbs not only change in numbers and persons, but also change in tenses. The tenses of German verbs are quite comparable with Russian ones - there are present, past and future tenses, only the German language provides for a much richer content and complex formation of some temporary forms. There are six tenses in German, of which one reflects the present tense, two represent the future and three represent the past. Tenses of German verbs can be simple (Präsens and Präteritum, also called Imperfekt) and complex (past tense forms - Perfekt, Plusquamperfekt, future forms - Futur I, II).

The present tense of Präsens displays processes, states or actions that are taking place, existing or taking place at a given moment in time. Präsens is a simple tense in form, that is, it consists of one verb in the corresponding form of person and number, and in almost all cases is formed by adding a personal ending to the stem of the semantic verb. Naturally, the German language cannot do without a number of exceptions to general rule, since the stem of the verb can end in different letters (such as -t, -d, -tm, -dm, -chn), and then an additional vowel “e” is inserted after them in the second person of both numbers and in the third person of Singular (singular ), which is dictated by facilitating the pronunciation of these words; strong verbs, the three main forms of which are to be memorized, may show the acquisition of an umlaut by the vowel in the second and third person Singular; and the verbs werden, haben, sein, which are very widely used in German, generally conjugate without any rules.

For example:

Dein Trainer hat mir gesagt, dass du im Wasser richtig atmest. - Your trainer told me that you breathe correctly in the water. (In the verb "atmest", an additional vowel "e" is added due to the peculiarity of the stem).

Du rechnest sehr gut, aber zu langsam. Die Ziffern schreibst du richtig. - You think very well, but too slowly. You write the numbers correctly. (In the first case, an additional vowel appears in "rechnest", and in the second, everything happens according to the standard scheme - nothing is added).

Du lässt mir überhaupt keine Hoffnung. You leave me no hope at all. (In the strong verb "lassen", the second and third person Singular are characterized by the acquisition of the vowel "a" of the umlaut).

Du hast eine sehr schöne Mütze, sie hat aber eine, die noch viel schöner ist. You have a very beautiful hat, but her hat is even more beautiful. (Here we see a peculiar formation of the verb "haben - to have" forms of the second and third person Singular).

Duwirst Lehrer, und wird Mechaniker. You will become a teacher, and he will become a mechanic. (The formation of the verb "werden - to become" forms of the second and third person Singular).

Dein Kleid ist ein absoluter Hinguker—ich bin begeistert. Bist du endlich zufrieden? - Your dress is so eye-catching - I'm delighted. Are you finally satisfied? (All three personal forms of the Singular verb "sein" are represented here.)

Wir sind heute im Theater, ihr seid morgen im Theater und sie sind bestraft. - We are going to the theater today, you are going to the theater tomorrow, and they are punished. (Three personal forms of the verb "sein" in the plural (Plural) are also not formed according to the rule).

A feature of the present tense of German verbs is the ability to convey the future tense. In the latter case, the orientation of the action to the future is often emphasized by the corresponding phrases and adverbs (bald - soon, danach - then, später - later, morgen - tomorrow, etc.).

For example:

Ich lese die Zeitschrift, welche mein Mann gestern gekauft hat. I am reading a magazine that my husband bought yesterday. (Here reflects the process of reading, which is happening at the present time).

Morgen spielen wir wieder Schach. Tomorrow we will play chess again. (In this case, the form Präsens conveys an action that is destined to happen in the future).

The tenses of German verbs boast another simple form, consisting of one semantic verb without auxiliary words - this is the past tense Präteritum (Imperfekt). This form is used in German mainly in monologue speech. Weak verbs form Präteritum according to the general, standard scheme for all of them (by adding the ending -te to the stem of the infinitive of a particular verb), and strong verbs form it according to rules that are no longer used in modern German, and therefore must be memorized. The conjugation of verbs in Präteritum is also accompanied by the addition of a personal ending to the stem, but not an infinitive, as happens in Präsens, but the second of the main forms of the verb. A feature of Präteritum is the absence of personal endings in the first and third person Singular, in other cases they coincide with the endings in Präsens).

For example:

Mein Kind wiederholte das Gedicht gestern. - My child repeated this poem yesterday. (The weak verb "wiederholen" forms Präteritum in the standard pattern.)

Gestern verbrachte ich zwei Stunden in der Schwimmhalle. - Yesterday I spent two hours in the pool. (The second form of the strong verb "verbringen" - "verbrachte" - must be remembered).

Du machtest keine Fehler in deinem Aufsatz. You didn't make any mistakes in your essay.

All other tenses of German verbs are complex and are formed using semantic and corresponding auxiliary verbs. In addition to Präteritum, the past tense is expressed by Perfect and Plusquamperfekt. There are no rigid boundaries for the use of the three past tenses; here we can only talk about the frequency of their use.

The next representative of the tenses of German verbs is Perfect, which is formed using one of the auxiliary verbs - sein or haben - and Partizip II (the third of the main forms of the verb).

When conjugated, only the auxiliary verb is changed, which is taken to form Perfect in the present tense. The main areas of application of this tense are dialogic speech and short messages. The choice of an auxiliary verb is dictated by the meaning conveyed by the verb. Thus, verbs denoting the process of transition from one state to another or movement directly form Perfect (and Plusquamperfekt) with the help of the verb "sein". Always form Perfekt (and Plusquamperfekt) with the verb "sein" the verbs folgen - to follow, begegnen - to meet, bleiben - to stay, geschehen - to occur, gelingen - to succeed, werden - to become, sein - to be. With “haben”, a complex construction of Perfekt (and Plusquamperfekt) is formed by transitional, return, modal verbs, as well as those that convey a long state (such as schlafen - sleep, warten - wait, stehen - stand, etc.). Due to the lack of form in German verbs, Perfect can convey both completed and incomplete actions in the past, and can also be used to convey actions in the future (a possible, but rare use in speech).

For example:

Ich habe viele verschiedene Kuchen für meine Gäste gebacken. — I baked many different pies for my guests.

Gestern hat er sich endlich rasiert. He finally shaved yesterday.

Wir haben auf euch ewig lange gewartet. We've been waiting for you for ages.

Wir sind mit einem sehr komfortablen Bus gefahren. - We went on a very comfortable bus.

Ich bin gespannt, was dir gelungen ist. - I'm very interested in what you did.

Bis Freitag ist es mir gelungen. I'll be able to do it by Friday.

Plusquamperfekt is another representative of the tense system of German verbs - like Perfekt, it is formed using one of the auxiliary verbs - sein or haben - and Partizip II (the third of the three main forms of the verb). However, here, instead of the Präsens of the corresponding auxiliary verb, as happens in the formation of Perfekt, its Präteritum is taken. In fact, this is its only significant difference from Perfect. At its core, Plusquamperfekt represents an action that precedes Perfect, some call it “prepast”. Unlike the other two German past tenses, Plusquamperfekt denotes a relative action, that is, an action that took place in the past before any other. Most often, the ratio of actions is performed in a pair of Präteritum - Plusquamperfekt. In colloquial speech, this time is rarely used, much more often it can be found in fiction.

For example:

Wir hatten wahnsinnigen Durst, weil wir innerhalb von 10 Stunden nichts getrunken hatten. We were terribly thirsty as we hadn't had anything to drink for 10 hours. (In the colloquial part, it would not be a mistake at all to replace the verb "hatten" with "haben").

Als es zu regnen begann, war sie aus dem Bus bereits ausgestiegen. By the time it started to rain, she had already got off the bus.

The future tenses of German verbs are represented by the commonly used Futur I and Futur II, which is practically not used at all in the modern language. Futur I is formed using the auxiliary verb "werden", which changes in numbers and persons, and the infinitive (Infinitiv I) of the semantic verb. Futur I is often replaced by the simple present Präsens, one of the functions of which is to convey an action that will happen in the future. The construction Futur II consists of the conjugated verb "werden" and the Infinitiv II semantic verb. Futur II conveys the relativity of action, namely the completion of one action in the future before another (also in the future).

For example:

Im nächsten Jahr werde ich an das Schwarze Meer fahren. — Im nächsten Jahr fahre ich an das Schwarze Meer. - Next year I will go to the Black Sea. (Futur I - Präsens)

Wenn wir eine neue Arbeit schreiben, werden wir alle Fehler berücksichtigt haben. When will we write new job, we will take into account all errors.

Tenses in German - examples of usage

In complex temporary constructions, auxiliary verbs are used along with semantic ones. The meaning of the semantic verb dictates the choice of the auxiliary - it will be haben or sein. Verbs of movement, a quick change of state form complex constructions using sein, and transitive, reflexive, modal verbs and verbs that convey any long state (sleep - schlafen, stand - stehen, etc.) require you to stop the choice on the verb haben , for example:
Unser Kind ist heute sehr schnell eingeschlafen. - Our child fell asleep very quickly today (quick change of state = sein).
Ich habe einen sehr interessanten Auftrag für Ihre Firma gefunden. - I found a very interesting order for your company (transitive verb = haben).
Mein Mann hat sich fünf Monate lang nicht rasiert. - My husband has not shaved for five months ( reflexive verb= haben).
Er ist gegen meinen Willen in me Auto eingesprungen! - He jumped into my car against my will (movement verb = sein).

Tenses in German (regular verbs)

In this way, as shown in the table, tenses in German are formed by the main part of the verbs called regular. However, German also has irregular verbs. To form tenses with such verbs, you will have to get acquainted with their main forms Präteritum and Partizip II, which are impossible to do without. The basic forms of irregular verbs show characteristic root alternations. For example:
regular verbs: zerlegen (disassemble, butcher (carcass)) - zerlegte - zerlegt; vergrössern (increase) - vergrösserte - vergrössert; lösen (release, release, terminate (agreement, etc.), decide, dissolve) - löste - gelöst;
irregular verbs: hingehen (to go there, in a given direction) - ging hin - hingegangen; zerbrechen (break, break) - zerbrach - zerbrochen; entnehmen (take away, borrow, take out) - entnahm - entnommen, etc.

As already mentioned, the existing six German grammatical tense forms are distributed unevenly over real tenses (past, future, present). The present tense is expressed with Präsens, the future with Präsens and Futurum I, and the past with Perfekt, Präteritum or Plusquamperfekt. The tense form Futurum II is specific and is used only when it is necessary to express the precedence of one action in the future to any other. The three forms that reflect the past tense do not differ from each other in any specific temporal shades, but are only inherent in different types of speech activity. So, Perfekt is an integral part of dialogues and, accordingly, colloquial speech, Präteritum mainly finds use in monologues and lengthy descriptions, and Plusquamperfekt (which in such cases can be replaced by the form of Perfekt) helps to convey the precedence of an action to another action transmitted using Prateritum.

Past tense Plusquamperfekt and conjunction nachdem

In life, situations often arise when, when describing some action in the past, there is another action that took place somewhat earlier than it. Accordingly, to reflect this earlier action in the past, an earlier past tense is also necessary. Just such a case of an earlier action in the past is the German Plusquamperfekt. Plusquamperfekt predates German Perfekt in its meaning. Consider simple speech examples:
Petra hat den Pullover gestrickt. - Petra knitted a pullover.
Petra ist aus dem Urlaub zurückgekehrt. Petra is back from vacation.

In both examples, the perfect is used (past tense, perfect). However, if we combine the events into one text, it turns out that first one action took place, and only after it another: Petra first returned from vacation, and then knitted a pullover. In order to correctly reflect this in German, it is necessary to construct statements as follows:
Petra war aus dem Urlaub zurückgekehrt. Petra hat den Pullover gestrickt.

Now the time sequence of actions is observed, however, the proposals are not completely interconnected. To establish this relationship, it is necessary to link these simple sentences into one complex one. This will require a German alliance "after this; after - nachdem. It is this union that most often links complex sentences with the forms of the past and pre-past tenses. At the same time, when using Plusquamperfekt as the past tense, the past in complex sentence the simple past Präteritum will perform (this is a grammatically perfect tense agreement). The use of perfect forms in such situations (instead of Präteritum) also seems quite possible and is not erroneous, for example:
Nachdem Petra aus dem Urlaub zurückgekehrt war, strickte sie den Pullover. = Nachdem Petra aus den Urlaub zurückgekehrt war, hat sie den Pullover gestrickt. - After Petra returned from vacation, she knitted a pullover.

From the above examples, it can be seen that if for the formation of perfect forms auxiliary verbs are put in the Präsens forms, then for the formation of pluperfect forms they are put in the Präteritum forms, but in practice Perfect is also widely used.

The Plusquamperfekt forms can also be used in the passive voice, for example:
Nachdem der Bankräuber von der Bezirkspolizei festgenommen worden war, konnten sie nach Hause fahren. - After the bank robber was caught by the regional police, they could go home.
Nachdem diese leckere Pilzsuppe zubereitet worden war, wurden wir alle zum Mittagessen eingeladen. - After this delicious mushroom soup was prepared, we were all invited to dinner.

In general, the past tense form Plusquamperfekt is used very infrequently in German speech, and is especially rare in its colloquial variant.

Ways of expressing time in German

There are different ways to express time in German. If some event or action took place only once in the past, then the German union "als" is used, for example:

Als Thomas Sarah sah, war sie schon zu einer Tasse Kaffee eingeladen. - When Thomas saw Sarah, she was already invited for a cup of coffee (a one-time action in the past).
Als unser Vater nach Hause kam, war das Abendessen schon fertig. - When our father came home, dinner was already ready (in the past, a single action).

When actions or phenomena are not inherent in a single character, and they occur repeatedly, the German union "wenn" is used, for example:
Immer wenn Thomas Sarah sah, war sie schon zu einer Tasse Kaffee eingeladen. - Whenever Thomas saw Sarah, she was already invited for a cup of coffee (a multiple action in the past).
Jeweils wenn unser Vater nach Hause kam, war das Abendessen schon fertig. - Every time our father came home, dinner was already ready (in the past - multiple action).
Wenn er eine günstigere Lösung findet, muss er sich bei uns melden. - when he finds more profitable solution, he must tell us (in the future - a single action).
Wenn er Fehler findet, muss er uns sofort darüber informieren. - When he finds errors, he must immediately inform us about this (in the future - multiple action).
Wenn du das erforderliche Spielzeug findest, sage mir Bescheid. - If you find the right toy, tell me (in the future, a single action).
Wenn Barbara in der Schule frühstücken wird, müßt ihr das bezahlen. - If Barbara eats breakfast at school, you have to pay for it (multiple action in the future).

There are such speech situations when a thought can be expressed without using subordinate clause. In such situations, clauses are replaced by the words "meanwhile - inzwischen" or "then - dann", which, as a rule, take on the functions of secondary members and require the use of reverse word order in sentences (otherwise, they take places after the main members inside statements), for example:
Zuerst kam Holger an, danach kann sein Neffe. - Holger arrived first, and then his nephew arrived.
Zunächst hat unser Chef diese Entscheidung getroffen, dann verstand er seinen Fehler. - At first, our boss made this decision, and then he realized his mistake.
Seine Kollegen führten alle Versuche durch, inzwischen bekam unsere Vertriebsabteilung neue Vorschriften. - His colleagues have already carried out all the tests, and in the meantime our sales department has received new regulations.
Alle Familienangehörigen waren gerade beim Abendessen, da klopfte jemand an der Tür. All family members were just having dinner when someone knocked on the door.

In addition to the aforementioned unions, "wann" - an interrogative pronoun, can also be used to express temporary relations, for example:
Wann bekomme ich meinen Stempel? - When will I receive my seal?
Jennifer weiß nicht, wann sie ihren Koffer bekommt. Jennifer doesn't know when she will get her suitcase.

There is a definite difference between "wann" and "wenn" and should not be confused. When the moment at which the event will occur is unknown, "wann" is used, for example:
Die Kinder wissen nicht, wann der Spiel beginnt. - The children do not know when the game will start.
Wisst ihr, wann wir die nächste Lieferung bekommen? - Do you know when we will receive the next shipment?

Historical and futuristic presence

Starting to learn German, the student is faced first of all with simple forms words and expressions used in the present tense. This is because it is difficult for a beginner to remember basic information about the construction of sentences, about the ending of verbs, about such an interesting part of speech in German as the article. At first, many lose it, forget about it, because it has no analogue in Russian. Therefore, it is methodically correct to build your knowledge gradually, as they say, brick by brick.

The simplest tense form is the present tense Präsens. But at the very beginning, only its main meanings are studied:
An indication of an event that occurs at the moment of speech.

Z. B: Ich gehe in die Bibliothek. - I'm going to the library.
An action taking place at the moment of speech, which has an indefinite duration.
Z.B.: Wir besuchen die Schule nur ein Jahr. - We attend school for only a year.
Everyone known facts e.g. book titles.

Z. B.: Kerstin Gier „Robinrot. Liebe geht durch alle Zeiten.“

But, unfortunately, the additional meanings of Präsens are always skimmed over. These include:

The present tense of historical events, the so-called historical Präsens,

And the events that have taken place in terms of the future are a futuristic presence.

Historical presence is used to make more real events historical prescription or to introduce the reader to that period so that he feels part of what is being said.

Z. B.: Der letzte preußische Posten ist passiert; der kleine Trupp marschiert über baumlose Landstraße, vorbei an den Feldern, auf denen Inseln mit Unkraut wuchern. (bredel)

That is, the reader is directly transferred to the time in which the events take place. It turns out that historical time lives in the present and there is a reduction in time frames.

Die Londoner Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts fängt an mit Charles Dickens (1812-1870); aber der gehört doch eher schon in die nächste, die viktorianische Epoche. (Die Zeit, 07/03/1992, Nr. 28)

Of course, the use of presence in this case is optional, it can be replaced by the simple past tense, but then the vivid sense of perception of past events is lost. And also the transfer of the reader to the thick of things disappears.

There are such forms of historical presentation:
"reporting presence" is different in that it is used to convey events that have just happened. If such information is transmitted using the preterite, then it will be necessary to indicate additional explanatory words that would clarify the period of what is happening in the recent past. This form describes events in a clear sequence.
The "imagined" presence is used to describe imaginary events that cannot be connected by any time. For example, the titles of paintings or remarks in plays.
Approximation of real past events to real time:

Z. B: Gestern gehe ich die Einkaufsstraße hinunter, da sehe ich, wie zwei bewaffnete maskierte Männer aus der Bank gelaufen kommen.

With regard to futuristic presence, it must be taken into account that in German there is some blurring between the present and the future tense in conversation. Therefore, the present tense is often used in the sense of the future when there are well-defined words indicating an action that will happen soon (morgen, bald, in einer Zeit). In addition, most often this form refers to a text that semantically refers to a planned action.

Of course, futuristic presence can be used without the above adverbs, then the context itself indicates the future of the action:

Wir halten Sie auf dem Laufenden. - We will keep you updated [“Stern”, 2004].

Or the adjective weiter can indicate that the action will take place in the future or sequentially:

Weitere Infos erhalten Sie bei Ihrem Skoda-Partner unter: www/octavia-combi/de etc.
["Der Spiegel", 2006].

Thus, semantically, the German language is characterized by an extended form of presence.

Then another question arises: when is it worth returning to this important part of German grammar? For many methodologists, the answer will be very simple: when all the main temporary forms are mastered by the student. It was then that it was fashionable to show the blurring of the futuristic presence and the completeness of the historical.

As exercises, you can use the following tasks:
Determine the temporal form of the text, indicate the differences between the historical and future presentation.
Describe these ongoing events using historical presence. In other words, write some news.
Replace the future tense with a form of futuristic presence where necessary.

words, it is impossible to ask them a question. They only convey all kinds of emotions, without specifically naming them, for example:

Hurrah! Er hat gewonnen! - Hooray! He won!

3. The system of temporary forms in German.

German verbs are a significant part of speech, the peculiarity of which is the change in numbers (singular and plural), persons (1-2-3), moods (imperative, subjunctive and indicative), pledges (passive and real) and tenses. The general concept of time in German corresponds to Russian - the action can unfold in the past, future or present, only there are more future and past tenses in German than in Russian.

Verb tenses in German are distributed as follows: there is one form of the present, two of the future and three of the past, that is, there are a total of six tense forms (two simple and four complex).

Euer Fahrer parkt jetzt hinter der Garage. Your driver is now parking behind the garage. (Here the simple present Präsens).

Meine Hausgehilfin wird morgen allesaufräumen. My housekeeper will clean everything up tomorrow. (The complex future Futurum I is used here).

Wenn ihr morgen zurückkehrt, wird sie die Wohnung bestensaufgeräumt haben . - When you return tomorrow (to your arrival), she will clean the apartment in the best possible way. (Here, the complex future Futurum II, which is infrequent in German speech, is used in cases requiring appropriate tense coordination).

Gestern tapezierten sie das kleinste Zimmer in ihrem Haus. -

Yesterday they were wallpapering the smallest room in their house. (Here the verb is in the simple past Imperfekt /

Prateritum).

Im Waldsee haben unsere Kinder wunderschöngebadet. - AT

forest lake, our children had a great swim. (Here the complex form of the past Perfect is used).

Als Peter das Elternhaus erreichte, hatten die Gäste schon allesaufgegessen undausgetrunken . - When Peter got to his parents' house, the guests had already eaten and drunk everything. (here the verb

stands in the complex past Plusquamperfekt, necessary for coordinating tenses in the past).

Why and in what cases are different tenses of German verbs used, and what they mean.

The simple present Präsens reflects the states, processes or actions that exist, are taking place or are taking place at the current moment in time. Simple given time is called insofar as the predicate is expressed by the personal form of the semantic verb without the participation of service verbs. This tense can also be used to communicate actions, states, and processes in the future. In such cases, the future of what is happening is indicated by the corresponding adverbs and various phrases, for example: then - danach, the day after tomorrow - übermorgen, nach dem Vertragsablauf - after the expiration of the contract, etc.

The simple past Imperfekt / Präteritum is also expressed in the personal form of the semantic verb in the present tense (Imperfekt / Präteritum) and serves mainly to design monologue speech - stories, descriptions, etc.

The compound past Perfect is formed by semantic verbs (in the form Partizip II) with the help of the appropriate auxiliary verbs (sein or haben) in the personal form

in Präsens, and is used mainly in dialogues and short messages of various kinds. German verbs do not have such grammatical category, as a kind, so Perfect can mean both completed and unfinished action in the past.

The compound past Plusquamperfekt is also formed by semantic verbs (in the form Partizip II) using the personal form of auxiliary verbs (sein or haben), but standing in Präteritum. At its core, Plusquamperfekt precedes the action in Perfect and is called "prepast" for this reason. This tense is used in sentences where it is necessary to convey some action or state that took place in the past before another action or state mentioned in the same sentence, that is, the purpose of Plusquamperfekt is to convey not an independent, but a relative action.

Futur I, representing a complex future, is formed using the personal form of the auxiliary verb werden and the infinitiv of the semantic verb and is very often replaced in speech by the simple present Präsens.

Futur II, which is also a complex future, also consists of the service verb werden in the personal form and the semantic verb in the form of Infinitiv II. This time, like Plusquamperfekt, is intended to convey the relativity of an action, that is, it denotes an action that ends in the future before any other.

I. Present tense (Gegenwart) and past tense

Unlike the past, the present tense in German is expressed in one form - Präsens. It is formed from the stem of the infinitive + personal endings of verbs.

A feature of the German verb system is the presence of strong and weak verbs. The conjugation of the verb in German depends on what type a certain verb belongs to. Most verbs exhibit qualities of a weak type, and the change in their grammatical forms can be reduced in general to a simple common table, to which there are only a number of minor refinements.

Verb conjugation in German: Präsens and Präteritum of weak verbs

From the table above, it can be seen that the difference between Präteritum and Präsens is the absence of a personal verb ending in the third and first person singular - these two forms are the same. For a number of verbs that have certain vowels at the end of the stem - -m, d, -n, -t, the ending acquires an additional vowel “e” in its composition to ensure ease of pronunciation of the word. This happens when verbs are conjugated in all cases of the second person and in the singular of the third person in Präsens, for example:

Du redest immer nur über deine Familie. You always talk only about your family. (Here we have the addition of "e" to facilitate pronunciation. The same is observed in the following examples).

Mein Bruder öffnet seinen Kühlschrank jede fünf Minuten. -

My brother opens his refrigerator every five minutes.

Ihr mietet eine Wohnung, ohne den Besitzer kennengelernt zu haben. You rent an apartment without meeting the owner.

In the relatively few verbs that end in stems with the vowels -s, -z, -ss, -x, the second person ending Präsens is characterized by the loss of "s" at the end of "st", for example:

Mit deinen Fragen reizt du immer meine Neugier. You always pique my curiosity with your questions. (Here we drop the "s" in the second person Singular).

Du bezahlst keine Rechnungen. You don't pay any bills. (In this example, we don't drop the "s" in the second person Singular.)

Verbs with the infinitive form in -eln lose "e"

in 1st person Singular, and 1st/3rd person Plural adds personal ending-n instead of the traditional -en, for example:

An seiner Tür klingle ich schon zehn Minuten. - I've been ringing his door for ten minutes (first person Singular).

Warum lacheln sie immer, wenn ich komme? – Why do they always smile when I come (third person Plural)?

Wir sprudeln heute wie verruckt. – Today we are spouting jokes like crazy (first person Plural).

The rare -ern infinitive verbs are conjugated in the same way as in the previous case, but in addition to this, in the first person Singular there may be another valid form without losing the “e”, for example:

Heute rudere / rudre ich nicht, ich habe Blasen an meinen

Handen. - Today I will not row (steer the boat) - I have calluses on my hands. (The first option is more typical for the literary German language, and the second one is inherent in colloquial German speech).

Strong verbs differ from weak verb units in that they do not have a suffix in Präteritum, and when declension and the formation of basic verb forms, there is a characteristic change in root vowels, and sometimes consonants, for example:

Dieser Beamte verspricht mir seine Unterstützung. This official promises me his support. (The third person Singular is formed from the infinitive versprechen with a change in the root vowel e

®i).

Euer Kind zerbrach die Lieblingstasse meiner Oma. Your child broke my grandmother's favorite cup. (As shown in this example, the addition of the formative suffix of the form Präteritum -(e)te, as occurs when conjugating weak verbs in German, does not occur with the strong verb "zerbrechen").

Ihr Vater ging zu seinem Rechtsanwalt. Her father went to his lawyer. (The Präteritum form of the verb gehen shows the alternation of vowels and consonants in the root of the word, as well as the characteristic absence of a personal ending in the third person Singular Präteritum).

Schematically, the conjugation of strong verbs in German can be represented in the form of the following table.

Verb conjugation in German: changing the personal endings of strong verbs

This table of conjugations of strong verbs in German shows only personal endings acquired by verbs. The conjugation of strong German verbs from the point of view of root changes is not subject to special generalization, since it is based on only a number of specific patterns. For this reason, the basic verb forms and characteristic changes in the root of such verbs during conjugation must be learned on the basis of any of the numerous tables of strong verbs. Such tables present these not particularly numerous representatives of the German verb system both in terms of the formation of three main forms, and in terms of the division of strong verbs into separate rows (die Ablautreihen), demonstrating the general patterns of vowel alternation within individual verb groups.

In addition to the already considered temporary form imperfect (Präteritum), to express actions, events and states,

completed by the time of speech in German, there are two more temporary forms:

perfect (Perfect),

pluperfect, or long past tense

(Plusquamperfekt).

Formation and use of the perfect (Perfekt).

The perfect is formed using the personal forms of the auxiliary verbs haben and sein (see item 4 of this guide) and the past participle (Partizip II). In this case, the verb sein is used with verbs denoting movement

(gehen, fahren, laufen, etc.) and change of state (verreisen, umziehen, auswandern, etc.), and with the verb bleiben.

Past participles (Partizip II) for weak verbs are formed from the stem of the infinitive with the prefix ge- and the ending -t. As for strong and irregular verbs, participles can be found in the third column of a special table.

The perfect is usually used in oral speech to express actions and events completed in the past, but related to the present (unlike the imperfect).

Gestern bin ich ganzen Tag im Bett geblieben. Ich habe schon dieses Buch gelesen.

However, this rule is not absolute: for example, in fiction you can find the perfect next to the preterite. The main thing to remember at this stage of learning is that the perfect is used in oral speech, the imperfect in writing.

In addition, it is important to know and understand that, unlike Russian, in the past tense in German there is no difference between the process and the result (the perfect and imperfect forms that are familiar to us).

Formation and use of the pluperfect

(Plusquamperfekt).

This temporary form is used quite rarely, usually it is replaced by the previous two. This time denotes an action committed some time ago or preceding some other action. It is usually used to emphasize the sequence of two actions.

Nachdem ich meine Hausaufgaben gemacht hatte ,spielte ich mit

Freunden draussen.

This tense form is formed with the help of the auxiliary verbs haben and sein in the IMPERFECT and the past participle.

arbeiten – ich hatte gearbeitet, du hattest gearbeitet, er/sie/es/man hatte gearbeitet…

bleiben - ich war geblieben, du warst geblieben, er/sie/es/man war geblieben ...

III. Future tense (Zukunft).

Considering the tenses of verbs in German, it is necessary to dwell on such forms as

Futurum II (FII).

Education and use (FI)

FI is formed using personal forms of the verb werden + infinitive:

Ich werde arbeiten, leben, studieren…Du wirst arbeiten, leben, studieren…

Er/sie/es/man wird arbeiten, leben, studieren…Wir werden arbeiten, leben, studieren…

Ihr werdet arbeiten, leben, studieren…Sie/Sie werden arbeiten, leben, studieren…