Irregular with Some Pattern: The Simple Past – Third & Last Part

Irregular verbs are eccentrics. They change their vowel but normally not in a manner we can identify as a pattern. In simple past, there are groups of verbs with the same main vowel.

logen, boten, hoben

The vowel must be stressed.

They look (and sound) as if they are from the same family, but in present tense they have nothing to do with each other.

lügen (to lie), bieten (to offer), heben (to lift)

Verbs in simple past with a stressed a: kamen, baten, stahlen

Present tense: kommen, bitten, stehlen.

But there is some pattern:

Verbs in simple past with a stressed u: trugen, fuhren, einluden.

Present tense: tragen, fahren, einladen.

Some simple past verbs with the stress upon ie stem from present tense verbs with ei as the main vowel.

schrieben, stiegen, blieben

Present tense: schreiben, steigen, bleiben

So, to get to the past, we just need to interchange the letters.

However, other simple past verbs with ie stem from present tense verbs with different vowels.

schliefen, anriefen, hießen

Present tense: schlafen, anrufen (to call on the phone), heißen

When conjugated, they also differ from the verb-ending pattern as we know it. They create their own pattern. Here are two examples (bieten and bleiben).

ich bot                   blieb
du botest                bliebst
er, sie, es bot          blieb
ihr botet                  bliebt
wir, Sie, sie boten   blieben

Be aware that this form of the past tense is often used in written language. In spoken language we create the past with the perfect tense combining haben or sein with the participle (gesungen, gegangen etc.)

When We Speak It: The Simple Past – Part Two

The simple past is mostly used in written language, mostly in newspapers that report yesterday's events. However, in spoken language we use the simple past with many verbs like the modal verbs können, müssen, wollen, dürfen etc.

Ich wollte nicht ins Kino. Durftest du als Kind beim Essen fernsehen? Er musste nach Berlin ziehen, weil er in Hamburg keine Arbeit finden konnte.

Other verbs spoken in simple past are haben (hatten – ich hatte einen Riesenhunger!) or sein. The verb sein is one of the oldest verbs and most irregular. The infinitive in present tense is sein, conjugated to ich bin, du bist, sie ist etc. The infinitive in simple past is waren:

ich war, du warst, er, sie, es war, ihr wart; wir, Sie, sie waren

Next time: Part III – How verbs change their vowel

As You Read and Write It: The Simple Past – Part One

Berlin, Alexanderplatz  Mai 1945 - 2015

As you look back, you see the irretrievable past. In language terms, it is called simple past. In German it is called Präteritum, mostly used in written language.

The simple past or Präteritum describes an activity in the past that does not continue anymore. It happened, it is finished, a one-time event. When we speak we often use the perfect tense, a combination of an auxiliary verb and a participle.

Present tense: Ich wohne in Kreuzberg.

Perfect tense (as we speak – so to speak): Ich habe in Kreuzberg gewohnt.

Simple past (as you would write it in your memoir): Ich wohnte in Kreuzberg.

Regular verbs change differently than irregular verbs.

Verbs like singen, trinken, essen, sprechen, bringen, rufen etc. are old words and therefore irregular verbs and as such they do not follow the modern rules of verb declension. It changes its vowel.

Regular verbs like wohnen, on the other hand, are easy fellows. Ad a –t or an –et and they are gone from the present.

Wir wohnen, wir wohnten, ich wohne, ich wohnte; er, sie, es wohnt; er, sie, es wohnte.
Wir sagen, wir sagten. Ich sage, ich sagte. Ihr sagt, ihr sagtet.

Here are two more examples of regular verbs in simple past, probably the most common activities in spring time in Berlin: lieben and hoffen.

ich liebte                     hoffte
du liebtest                   hofftest
er, sie, es liebte           hoffte
ihr liebtet hofftetwir, Sie, sie liebten     hofften

We treat all new verbs that enter the language as regular verbs.

Gina googelte Martin. Sie twitterte, dann flirtete sie mit ihm.