German · Intermediate (B1) · Chapter 1 of 12
Stories and memories
Geschichten und Erinnerungen
Tell a story about the past in German: the Präteritum of common verbs, the Plusquamperfekt for what had happened before, and als for “when”.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Tell a story about something that happened long ago
- Use the Präteritum of common verbs like kam, ging and fuhr
- Say what had happened before with the Plusquamperfekt
- Use als for a single moment in the past
Listen
In Görlitz, Finn (24) asks his grandfather Werner (78) how he met Finn's grandmother. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Finn
Opa, wie hast du eigentlich Oma kennengelernt?
Grandpa, how did you actually meet Grandma?
Werner
Das war im Sommer 1968. Ich war zwanzig und arbeitete damals in Dresden.
That was in the summer of 1968. I was twenty and worked in Dresden at the time.
Finn
Und Oma? Hat sie auch in Dresden gewohnt?
And Grandma? Did she live in Dresden too?
Werner
Nein, sie kam aus Görlitz. Eines Tages fuhr ich mit dem Zug nach Hause, und sie saß neben mir.
No, she came from Görlitz. One day I was going home on the train, and she was sitting next to me.
Finn
Und dann? Hast du einfach mit ihr geredet?
And then? Did you just talk to her?
Werner
Nein, ich war viel zu schüchtern. Aber dann blieb der Zug plötzlich stehen, und wir mussten zwei Stunden warten.
No, I was much too shy. But then the train suddenly stopped, and we had to wait for two hours.
Finn
Zwei Stunden? Und was habt ihr gemacht?
Two hours? And what did you do?
Werner
Wir haben geredet. Sie las ein Buch, und genau dieses Buch hatte ich auch schon gelesen.
We talked. She was reading a book, and I had already read that very book too.
Finn
Das ist ja wie im Film. Hast du sie danach wiedergesehen?
That's just like in a film. Did you see her again after that?
Werner
Ja. Als wir in Görlitz ankamen, hatte sie mir schon ihre Adresse gegeben. Eine Woche später schrieb ich ihr einen Brief.
Yes. When we arrived in Görlitz, she had already given me her address. A week later I wrote her a letter.
Finn
Und sie hat dir geantwortet?
And she wrote back?
Werner
Nach drei Wochen, ja. Und zwei Jahre später haben wir geheiratet.
After three weeks, yes. And two years later we got married.
Understand
The Präteritum in stories
In A2 you used the Präteritum for , and the modal verbs. When people tell a longer story about the past, especially one from long ago, they often use it for other verbs too. In books and newspapers it's the normal past tense. In conversation, most people still prefer the Perfekt, as Finn does; you hear the Präteritum in speech more in the north than in the south.
Regular verbs add -te to the stem: → , → . If the stem ends in -t or -d, add -ete: , . Irregular verbs change their vowel and have no -te: → . The forms for and / / have no ending; the others add -st, -en, -t, -en: , , , .
| Infinitive | Präteritum | Perfekt |
|---|---|---|
| (to live) | ||
| (to work) | ||
| (to go) | ||
| (to come) | ||
| (to go, to drive) | ||
| (to see) | ||
| (to give) | ||
| (to read) | ||
| (to write) | ||
| (to stay) | ||
| (to sit) | ||
| (to find) |
Before that: the Plusquamperfekt
When you're already telling a story in the past and want to go one step further back, use the Plusquamperfekt: or + past participle. It's like English “had done”: (I had already read the book).
It works exactly like the Perfekt, only with or instead of or . Verbs that take in the Perfekt take here: (she had already gone home).
| Perfekt | Plusquamperfekt | English |
|---|---|---|
| I had read | ||
| she had given | ||
| we had gone | ||
| he had come |
- Als ich ankam, war sie schon nach Hause gegangen.When I arrived, she had already gone home.
- Sie hatte mir ihre Adresse gegeben.She had given me her address.
als: when, one time in the past
(when) introduces something that happened once in the past, or a period like your childhood. Like and , it sends the verb to the end: . You already know ; now you can add a verb: , …
If the part comes first, it counts as position one, so the main verb comes straight after the comma: Als wir ankamen, hatte sie mir ihre Adresse gegeben. Words like (first), , , (later), (suddenly) and (in the end) put the events of a story in order.
- Als ich zwanzig war, arbeitete ich in Dresden.When I was twenty, I worked in Dresden.
- Zuerst war ich nervös, aber am Ende war alles gut.At first I was nervous, but in the end everything was fine.
More in the grammar: The simple past (Präteritum): war, hatte, musste · Linking clauses: als, wenn, obwohl, damit, um … zu · The past perfect (Plusquamperfekt): hatte gemacht, war gegangen
New words
- eigentlichactually, really · …? = How did you actually …?
- kennenlernento get to know, to meet (for the first time) · separable: ; Perfekt:
- damalsback then, at the time
- eines Tagesone day (in a story)
- nach Hausehome (going there) · = at home
- sitzento sit, to be sitting · Präteritum: ; Perfekt:
- plötzlichsuddenly
- stehen bleibento stop (moving) · Präteritum: ; Perfekt:
- die Stundehour · feminine, plural: ; = two hours
- schonalready · = I had already read it.
- der Briefletter · masculine, plural: ; = address
- späterlater · = a week later
- antwortento answer, to reply · + dative:
- heiratento get married, to marry · Perfekt:
Practise
1.Which is the Präteritum of ? “Eines Tages ___ ich mit dem Zug nach Hause.”
2.Complete with the Präteritum of .
Grandma came from Görlitz.
3.Complete with the Präteritum of .
Back then I worked in Dresden.
4.Complete the Plusquamperfekt with or .
I had already read the book too.
5.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.When we arrived, she had given me her address.
6.Match the Präteritum forms with their meanings.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Wie hast du eigentlich deine Frau kennengelernt?
How did you actually meet your wife?
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.