When learners study the past tense in German, they are taught “there are two past tenses, but you only need to know one.” Is that accurate? Do Germans only use one and avoid the other? The truth between choosing präteritum or perfekt is a little more complicated.
Always use preterite for sein in spoken German
Ich war verzückt als ich es gehört habe.
= I was ecstatic when I heard it.
The preterite is almost exclusive used in this form in spoken German mainly because it is so common. It is the most common verb, so the single-syllable verb matches better.
Always use preterite for modal verbs in spoken German
Du solltest mehr Deutsch üben.
= You should have practiced more German.
It is more common to use the preterite for modal verbs to avoid the double infinitive construction necessary in the perfekt of modal verbs.
Er hat perfektes Detusch sprechen wollen.
= He wanted to speak perfect German.
To avoid this construction, it’s most common to use the preterite in spoken German.
The preterite is the Erzählzeit (narrative time)
When telling a story, especially in written form, you will encounter the preterite more. It is most helpful for narration. Rather than being used to tell me what you ate for breakfast, preterite will be common in the situation where mom tells you about what it was like when she was a little girl.
That is not to say it’s about the distance in time. It is about the way you view the past. If you are the narrator for your own story, you’ll be more likely to use it. You will see it more in writing, not because it is formal, but because writing has a more narrative tone.
Summary
Preterite
- (spoken) sein
- (spoken) modal verbs
- narration
Perfect
- everything else
When choosing between präteritum or perfekt, try to remember these general guidelines.
If you want to read more language explanations, you can read my blog for more German articles.
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