1. Das Perfekt The Past (Perfect) Tense
This is used to describe what has happened in the PAST

2. Examples in English I have eaten pizza
I have watched Big Brother on the TV
I have surfed the net
I have had a shower
I have listened to the Radio One Roadshow
I have fed my cat
I have invited my friends to a party

3. In English we often omit the “have”:
I saw Spiderman at the cinema
I went to the disco last night
I went roller-skating at the weekend
I helped my Dad with the barbeque
I went bowling with the family
I ate a Big Mac as a treat
IN GERMAN the “have” is always included.

4. There are two ingredients needed for the Past Tense:
I have eaten pizza
I have surfed the net
The “have” is called the:
AUXILIARY VERB
The “eaten”, “surfed” are called the:
PAST PARTICIPLES
i.e. the Past forms of the verbs to eat, to surf

5. Auxiliary Verb “haben”
ich habe
du hast
er hat
sie hat
es hat
wir haben
ihr habt
sie haben
Sie haben
I have
You (fam. sing) have
He has
She has
It has
We have
You (fam. pl.) have
They have
You (polite) have

6. The Past Participle To make the Past Participle
1. Take the INFINITIVE OF THE VERB
(i.e. the form in the dictionary)
e.g. spielen = to play, basteln = to do DIY
2. Put a “GE” on the front:
spielen – GEspielen
basteln – GEbasteln
3. Remove the final “en” or “n” and add a “T”
GEspielen – GEspielT
GEbasteln – GEbastelT

7. Make PAST PARTICIPLES from:
tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
kochen = to cook

8. Make PAST PARTICIPLES from:
tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
kochen = to cook
kochen – GEkochen – GEkochT = cooked

9. Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
2. malen = to paint

10. Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
2. malen – GEmalen – GEmalT = painted

11. Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
3. lernen = to learn

12. Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
3. lernen – GElernen – GElernT = learnt

13. Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
4. wohnen = to live

14. Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
4. wohnen – GEwohnen – GEwohnT - lived

15. Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
5. kaufen = to buy

16. Make Past Participles from:
Tanzen – GEtanzen – GEtanzT = danced
5. kaufen – GEkaufen – GEkaufT = bought

17. AUXILIARY VERB + PAST PARTICIPLE=
PERFECT TENSE
Ich habe gekocht
Ich habe gelernt
Ich habe gewohnt
Ich habe gemalt
Ich habe gekauft

18. ACHTUNG!
Verbs ending in “ten”, “nen” or “den” add an ET to the end of the PAST PARTICIPLE in order to make pronunciation easier:
arbeiten = to work
GEarbeiten – GEarbeitET – worked

19. ACHTUNG!
Verbs ending in “ten”, “nen” or “den” add an ET to the end of the PAST PARTICIPLE in order to make pronunciation easier:
regnen = to rain
GEregnen – GEregnET – rained

20. ACHTUNG!
Verbs ending in “ten”, “nen” or “den” add an ET to the end of the PAST PARTICIPLE in order to make pronunciation easier:
baden = to have a bath
GEbaden – GEbadET – had a bath

21. ACHTUNG Verbs beginning with: BE, EMPF, ENT, ER, MISS, VER, ZER
DO NOT add a GE to front of the
PAST PARTICIPLE

22. NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
besuchen = to visit
Ich habe besucht
I have visited

23. NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
bezahlen = to pay
Ich habe bezahlt
I have paid

24. NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
verkaufen = to sell
Ich habe verkauft
I have sold

25. NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
Also verbs ending in “ieren” do not add a “GE” to the front of the past participle:
reparieren = to repair
Ich habe repariert.

26. NO GE ON PAST PARTICIPLE
Also verbs ending in “ieren” do not add a “GE” to the front of the past participle:
telefonieren = to telphone
Ich habe telefoniert.

27. WEAK (REGULAR) VERBS
Verbs which make their PAST PARTICIPLE by adding a GE to the front of the verb and a T to the end are called
WEAK VERBS or REGULAR VERBS (they behave exactly according to a pattern)
e.g. Ich habe gespielt – I have played

28. WEAK (REGULAR) VERBS
Even verbs which DO NOT add a GE to the front of the PAST PARTICIPLE but which do end in T are called WEAK or REGULAR:
E.g.
Ich habe besucht – I have visited
Ich habe mich rasiert – I have had a
shave

29. Have you mastered it?
Now have a go at the Perfect Tense Weak Verb worksheet.

30. RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ? A: 1. Ich habe gefragt. 2. Ich habe gehoert.
3. Ich habe gesagt.
4. Ich habe gespart.

31. RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ? A: 5. Ich habe gelacht. 6. Ich habe gesammelt.
7. Ich habe getraeumt.
8. Ich habe gemachtt.

32. RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ? B: 9. Ich habe geantwortet.
10. Ich habe geoeffnet.
11. Ich habe gearbeitet.
12. Ich habe gewartet.

33. RICHTIG ODER FALSCH ? C: 13. Ich habe bestellt.
14. Ich habe telefoniert.
15. Ich habe vorbereitet.
16. Ich habe repariert

34. How do I know if a verb is weak?
Look up the verb “spielen” in the Malvern Guide dictionary.
What information is given to you?

35. WEAK (REGULAR) VERBS spielen v reg. to play
This means that the verb is Weak or Regular.