Präteritum

dasNoun

past tense (simple past)

English translations

  1. 01

    past tense

  2. 02

    simple past

Word details

German meaning
Eine Vergangenheitsform im Deutschen, die hauptsächlich in geschriebenen Texten verwendet wird.
English meaning
past tense (preterite)
Synonym
Vergangenheit, Imperfekt
German example
Ich ging gestern ins Kino. (ging ist Präteritum)
English example
I went to the cinema yesterday. (went is past tense)
Type
Noun
Article
das
Singular Form
das Präteritum
Plural Form
die Präterita

Example sentences with “Präteritum”

  1. Das Präteritum wird oft in der Schriftsprache verwendet. (The simple past is often used in written language.)

Frequently asked questions

How do you form the Präteritum in German?

For regular verbs, you add '-te' to the stem (e.g., machen -> machte). For irregular verbs, the stem vowel often changes (e.g., gehen -> ging).