war & hatte

war — the past of sein

ich war, du warst, er/sie/es war, wir waren, ihr wart, sie/Sie waren. ich and er share the form, as in every past tense.

• Gestern war ich müde. Wo warst du? Yesterday I was tired. Where were you?
• Wir waren im Kino. Der Film war gut. We were at the cinema. The film was good.

Quick check

Gestern wir im Zoo.

hatte — the past of haben

ich hatte, du hattest, er hatte, wir hatten, ihr hattet, sie hatten. Regular throughout: hatt- plus the endings.

• Ich hatte keine Zeit. Er hatte Hunger. I had no time. He was hungry.
• Hattet ihr Spaß? – Ja, wir hatten viel Spaß. Did you have fun? – Yes, we had a lot of fun.

Quick check

du gestern Zeit?

Not 'ich bin gewesen' in speech

Germans almost never say ich bin gewesen or ich habe gehabt; they say ich war, ich hatte. These two verbs are the exception to 'use the Perfekt for the past'.

• Wie war dein Wochenende? – Es war schön. How was your weekend? – It was nice.
• Hattest du Zeit? – Nein, ich hatte viel Arbeit. Did you have time? – No, I had a lot of work.

resist building 'have been' with the Perfekt here. war and hatte are the natural forms.

Quick check

Wie der Urlaub? – Super!

war and hatte are the past-tense skeleton

Later every verb gets a Präteritum; war and hatte are its first two rungs and set the pattern: ich = er, then -st, -en, -t, -en.

• ich war / er war · ich hatte / er hatte first and third person always match in the past
• du warst / ihr wart · du hattest / ihr hattet the familiar endings -st and -t

Quick check

Ihr keine Fahrkarte.

Words · tap to hear

The words you need

• war / waren was / were
• hatte / hatten had
• gestern yesterday
• letzte Woche last week
• krank ill
• müde tired
• dasWetter weather
• derSpaß fun (Spaß haben = have fun)
• dieZeit time
• zu Hause at home
• dasWochenende weekend

Listen

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In context

Hear it in a real exchange

Yesterday was Sunday. I was at home and had lots of time. My friends were in the park – the weather was nice. In the evening we were hungry and didn't feel like cooking. So we were at the pizzeria. Where were you?

Spot the mistake

Which one is right?

Spot the mistake

Which one is right?

Spot the mistake

Which one is right?

Cheat sheet

What to take with you

• war — the past of sein
• hatte — the past of haben
• Not 'ich bin gewesen' in speech
• war and hatte are the past-tense skeleton