langula
War and hatte: the simple past
What does war show in “Gestern war ein schöner Tag”?
Gestern war ein schöner Tag.
Yesterday was a beautiful day.
Take a look
- Gestern war ein schöner Tag.Yesterday was a beautiful day.
- Das Publikum war begeistert.The audience was thrilled.
- Früher war alles anders.Everything used to be different.
- seinzyneto be
- habenHAH-bento have
The rule
In stories, sein and haben often appear as war and hatte. These simple past forms need only one word: Gestern war ein schöner Tag. Learn the forms for each person too, such as ich war, du warst and ich hatte, du hattest. For most other verbs, spoken German usually uses the Perfekt you already know. Do not put every past event into this simple form.
Goes with lesson 2, 31, 39 of the course.
What differs for you
English has short past forms such as was and had, so German war and hatte have a familiar role. The difference is how far this simple form spreads in ordinary speech. German often uses war and hatte, but many other spoken past events use the Perfekt. Do not map every English simple-past verb onto a one-word German past form.
The forms
Past forms of sein and haben
| Person | sein | haben |
|---|---|---|
| ich | war | hatte |
| du | warst | hattest |
| er/sie/es | war | hatte |
| wir | waren | hatten |
| ihr | wart | hattet |
| sie/Sie | waren | hatten |
Common mistakes
*Gestern ist ein schöner Tag.Gestern war ein schöner Tag.*ich warenich war.
Quick check
- Which form fits? Gestern ___ ein schöner Tag.
- Which form fits? Das Publikum ___ begeistert.
- Which form fits? Früher ___ alles anders.
- Which form fits? ich + haben → ___
- Which form fits? du + sein → ___
The answers appear after “Check”.
- war — “war” is the past form of sein in this sentence about “Tag”.
- war — “war” is the past form of sein in this sentence about “Publikum”.
- war — “war” is the past form of sein in this sentence about “Früher”.
- hatte — With ich, haben becomes “hatte” in the simple past.
- warst — With du, past-tense sein takes -st: “warst”.
The same exercises come back in the course — there Langula remembers what you know and asks again at the right moment. Learn German free →
Learn German, don’t just read about it
The sentences on this page are part of the free course — with pronunciation and repetition.