Präteritum of regular verbs
B1 · Intermediate · Advanced Structures
The rule
stem + -te: machte, lernte.
How it works
The simple past of regular verbs is formed by inserting -te (or -ete after d and t stems) before the personal ending: ich machte, du machtest, er machte, wir machten. It is the normal past tense in written German and in narratives, while the perfect dominates spoken German. Learning the Präteritum of common verbs such as machen, sagen and arbeiten is an important step at B1.
When to use it
Form the simple past of regular verbs in written German, such as machte (did) and lernte (learned).
Use cases
- Writing a story in the past: Am Montag arbeitete ich lange im Büro
- Reporting news: Die Polizei sagte, der Unfall passierte gestern
- Writing emails and reports about past events
Examples
- Er lernte Deutsch – He learned German
- Er wohnte früher in Köln. – He used to live in Cologne.
- Wir lernten jeden Tag Vokabeln. – We learned vocabulary every day.
- Sie antwortete sofort auf meine E-Mail. – She replied to my email immediately.
Common mistake
Using -t endings with the perfect form in writing, or forgetting the -e in the simple past.
Memory tip
Stem + -te + ending: machte, lernte, wohnte. Use it in narratives and news.
Read the wider picture in our guide: German Verbs and Word Order: Tenses, Modals and Sentence Structure.