Imperfect Tense and Pluperfect
Imperfect Tense and Pluperfect in German
The imperfect tense (Präteritum / Imperfekt) is the other main past tense in German, used primarily in written narratives, formal texts, and with certain high-frequency verbs. The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) expresses what had happened before another past event.
The Imperfect Tense
When to Use It
- In written stories, reports, and articles (the narrative past)
- With haben, sein, and modal verbs in both spoken and written German (Germans almost always say ich war rather than ich bin gewesen)
- In the reading and listening exams, you will encounter it frequently
Regular (Weak) Verbs
Add -te to the stem, then the personal endings:
| Pronoun | spielen (to play) | machen (to do) |
|---|---|---|
| ich | spielte | machte |
| du | spieltest | machtest |
| er/sie/es | spielte | machte |
| wir | spielten | machten |
| ihr | spieltet | machtet |
| sie/Sie | spielten | machten |
- Ich spielte als Kind oft im Garten. — I often played in the garden as a child.
- Wir machten eine lange Wanderung. — We did a long hike.
Stems ending in -t or -d add -ete: er arbeitete, sie redete.
Irregular (Strong) Verbs
These change their stem vowel and take a different set of endings (no ending for ich and er/sie/es):
| Pronoun | gehen (to go) | fahren (to drive) | kommen (to come) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich | ging | fuhr | kam |
| du | gingst | fuhrst | kamst |
| er/sie/es | ging | fuhr | kam |
| wir | gingen | fuhren | kamen |
| ihr | gingt | fuhrt | kamt |
| sie/Sie | gingen | fuhren | kamen |
Essential Irregular Imperfect Forms
| Infinitive | Imperfect (ich) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| sein | war | was |
| haben | hatte | had |
| gehen | ging | went |
| kommen | kam | came |
| fahren | fuhr | drove/went |
| geben | gab | gave |
| sehen | sah | saw |
| essen | aß | ate |
| trinken | trank | drank |
| schreiben | schrieb | wrote |
| lesen | las | read |
| sprechen | sprach | spoke |
| nehmen | nahm | took |
| finden | fand | found |
| schlafen | schlief | slept |
| tragen | trug | wore/carried |
| stehen | stand | stood |
| laufen | lief | ran |
| beginnen | begann | began |
| helfen | half | helped |
- Es war sonnig und warm. — It was sunny and warm.
- Ich hatte keine Zeit. — I had no time.
- Wir fuhren mit dem Zug nach München. — We went to Munich by train.
- Er aß ein großes Stück Kuchen. — He ate a big piece of cake.
Modal Verbs in the Imperfect
Modal verbs lose their umlaut in the imperfect and take weak (-te) endings:
| Infinitive | Imperfect (ich) |
|---|---|
| können | konnte |
| müssen | musste |
| dürfen | durfte |
| sollen | sollte |
| wollen | wollte |
| mögen | mochte |
- Ich konnte nicht schlafen. — I couldn't sleep.
- Wir mussten um sechs Uhr aufstehen. — We had to get up at six o'clock.
- Sie wollte Ärztin werden. — She wanted to become a doctor.
- Er durfte nicht ausgehen. — He wasn't allowed to go out.
The Pluperfect Tense (Plusquamperfekt)
The pluperfect describes what had happened before something else in the past. It is formed like the perfect tense, but the auxiliary (haben/sein) is in the imperfect:
Structure: Subject + hatte/war + ... + past participle
| haben verbs | sein verbs | |
|---|---|---|
| ich | hatte ... gemacht | war ... gegangen |
| du | hattest ... gemacht | warst ... gegangen |
| er/sie/es | hatte ... gemacht | war ... gegangen |
| wir | hatten ... gemacht | waren ... gegangen |
| ihr | hattet ... gemacht | wart ... gegangen |
| sie/Sie | hatten ... gemacht | waren ... gegangen |
- Ich hatte schon gegessen, als er ankam. — I had already eaten when he arrived.
- Sie war nach Hause gegangen, bevor es regnete. — She had gone home before it rained.
- Wir hatten die Hausaufgaben vergessen. — We had forgotten the homework.
- Er war noch nie nach Deutschland gefahren. — He had never been to Germany before.
When to Use the Pluperfect
- To show one past action happened before another: Nachdem ich aufgestanden war, frühstückte ich. — After I had got up, I had breakfast.
- After nachdem (after), the pluperfect is the expected tense in the subordinate clause, with the imperfect in the main clause.
- It signals a clear sequence of past events.
Imperfect vs. Perfect: Which to Use?
| Situation | Tense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday spoken German | Perfect | Ich habe gespielt |
| Written narratives / stories | Imperfect | Ich spielte |
| haben, sein, modal verbs (spoken & written) | Imperfect | Ich war, ich hatte, ich konnte |
| Formal reports | Imperfect | Der Unfall geschah um 10 Uhr |
Exam Tips
- Reading/Listening: You will see the imperfect everywhere in texts. Learn the irregular forms so you can recognise them instantly.
- Writing/Speaking: Use war, hatte, konnte, musste, wollte naturally — they sound more fluent than the perfect equivalents. For other verbs, the perfect tense is fine in speech.
- Higher-tier writing: Using the pluperfect with nachdem impresses examiners: Nachdem ich meine Prüfungen bestanden hatte, feierte ich mit meinen Freunden.
- Translation: Watch out for English "was doing" — German has no past continuous, so ich spielte can mean "I played" or "I was playing".