KAPITEL 5 | TEIL 5 - THREE PAST TENSES: A COMPARISON |
		A. A comparison of three past tenses (Ein Vergleich) To summarize, German has three past tenses: the simple past tense, the present perfect tense and the past perfect tense. Tense Example The simple past tense Sie spielte die Nacht zuvor Computerspiele. She played (was playing) computer games the previous night. The present perfect tense Sie hat die Nacht zuvor Computerspiele gespielt. She has played (has been playing) computer games the previous night. The past perfect tense Am Morgen war sie sehr müde, denn sie hatte die Nacht zuvor Computerspiele gespielt. She was very tired in the morning because she had played computer games the previous night. The simple past tense (also sometimes called preterite) is used to describe a narrative or series of events in the past that are completed. It is used in formal writing situations and in novels and typically consists of just one verb form: öffnete (opened), las (read), schrieb (wrote), postete (posted), kommentierte (commented). The present perfect tense is used in spoken German to talk about events in the past or write a short note such as an e-mail or an SMS. The present perfect tense is formed with the auxiliary verb haben or sein conjugated in the present tense and the past participle of the main verb placed at the end of the sentence. The past perfect tense is formed using the simple past form of haben or sein and the past participle of the main verb. The past perfect tense is used in writing and in speaking to describe an event that occurred before another specific event in the past. The sentence "Am Morgen war sie sehr müde, denn sie hatte die Nacht zuvor Computerspiele gespielt", describes two events in the past. The playing of the computer games happened the night before the morning when she was tired, hence, it is expressed using the past perfect tense.