Das Präteritum von sein und haben

By /

Speaking About the Past: “sein” and “haben” for Beginners (A1)

When you learn German, you want to talk about your day. To say “I was” or “I had” in German, we use a past tense called Präteritum.

Good news: You only need to memorize two verbs to start talking about yesterday!

1. The Verb “sein” (to be) -> “war” (was/were)

Use war when you want to say where you were, or how you felt in the past.

German Subject Past Tense (Präteritum) English Meaning
ich war I was
du warst you were (informal)
er / sie / es war he / she / it was
wir waren we were
ihr wart you all were
sie / Sie waren they / You (formal) were

Easy Examples:

  • Ich war gestern müde. -> I was tired yesterday.

  • Er war im Kino. -> He was at the cinema.

2. The Verb “haben” (to have) -> “hatte” (had)

Use hatte when you want to say what you owned, or if you were hungry or thirsty in the past.

German Subject Past Tense (Präteritum) English Meaning
ich hatte I had
du hattest you had (informal)
er / sie / es hatte he / she / it had
wir hatten we had
ihr hattet you all had
sie / Sie hatten they / You (formal) had

Easy Examples:

  • Ich hatte ein Buch. -> I had a book.

  • Wir hatten Hunger. -> We had hunger. (We were hungry.)

Key Words for the Past (A1 Vocabulary)

To show you are talking about the past, use these helpful time words:

  • gestern -> yesterday

  • letzte Woche -> last week

  • früher -> in the past / earlier

Practice Sentences: Try reading these aloud!

  1. Du warst glücklich. (You were happy.)

  2. Sie hatten Durst. (They had thirst / They were thirsty.)

Scroll to Top