Ready to test your knowledge about German Present Perfect Tense (Perfekt)?
Understanding the German Present Perfect Tense (Perfekt)
The Present Perfect Tense, or Perfekt, is used in German to talk about actions that have been completed in the past. It's a bit like saying 'I have eaten' instead of 'I ate.'
Important Points
The Perfekt is formed using a helping verb and the past participle of the main verb.
The helping verbs are 'haben' or 'sein.'
'Haben' is used with most verbs.
'Sein' is used with verbs that indicate movement or a change of state.
The past participle usually ends in '-t' or '-en.'
To use the Perfekt, you need to know which helping verb to use and how to form the past participle of the main verb. Let's look at some examples.
Examples
Ich habe ein Buch gelesen.
Er ist nach Hause gegangen.
Wir haben Fußball gespielt.
In the first example, 'habe' is the helping verb, and 'gelesen' is the past participle of 'lesen' (to read). In the second example, 'ist' is the helping verb for 'gehen' (to go), because it shows movement. In the third example, 'haben' is used again with 'gespielt,' the past participle of 'spielen' (to play).
Now you know how to form sentences in the Perfekt tense! Practice by making your own sentences about things you've done recently.
Ready to test your knowledge about German Present Perfect Tense (Perfekt)?