German Present Perfect - Irregular Verbs
Overview
German present perfect irregular verbs are formed by using strong (irregular) verbs. This past tense form is often referred to as the "conversational past" since it is most often used in spoken German when speaking about events in the past.
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Das Perfekt mit “sein“
sein + (usually) ge+(main part of the verb)+en
Most verbs that express movement from one point to another point, indicate a change of state of being (e.g. wake up, fall asleep, lose consciousness), and “sein” (gewesen) use “sein” as an auxiliary or helping verb in the present perfect.
Infinitiv | gehen | laufen | fahren | kommen |
Präsens | ich gehe | du läufst | er fährt | wir kommen |
Perfekt | ich bin gegangen | du bist gelaufen | er ist gefahren | wir sind gekommen |
Example: Er ist gestern nach Hamburg gefahren. Ich bin letzte Woche in Berlin gewesen.
He drove to Hamburg yesterday. I was in Berlin last week.
(literally: He has driven to Hamburg yesterday. I have been in Berlin last week.)
Das Perfekt mit “haben” (-en ending)
![German Present Perfect - Irregular Verbs 2 pres perfstarksein 1 1 jpg](https://corelanguages8.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pres-perfstarksein-1-1-jpg.jpg)
haben + ge+main part of the verb+en
Infinitiv | lesen | schreiben | sehen | essen |
Präsens | ich lese | er schreibt | ihr seht | sie essen |
Perfekt | ich habe gelesen | er hat geschrieben | ihr habt gesehen | sie haben gegessen |
Example: Ich habe gestern ein Buch gelesen. Sie haben letzte Woche Eis gegessen.
I read a book yesterday. You ate ice cream last week.
(literally: I have read a book yesterday. You have eaten ice cream last week.)
![German Present Perfect - Irregular Verbs 3 pres perfstarkhaben 1 1 jpg](https://corelanguages8.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pres-perfstarkhaben-1-1-jpg.jpg)
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Additional Topics
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
The CEFR is an international standard used to describe language ability. Here are specific details of the CEFR for this topic.