Imperfect Forms of haben and sein in German

This section explains Imperfect Forms of haben and sein in German. In German, the imperfect tense (Präteritum) is often used to describe past actions or events, especially in written German (such as in stories, reports, and historical accounts). The imperfect tense of the verbs haben (to have) and sein (to be) is irregular, and these forms are very important to know.

Imperfect Forms of haben (to have)

In the imperfect tense, the verb haben (to have) follows an irregular pattern. Here are the conjugated forms of haben in the imperfect tense:

Example Sentences with haben in the Imperfect:

• Ich hatte gestern viel Arbeit.
  (I had a lot of work yesterday.)
• Du hattest keine Zeit, oder?
  (You didn’t have time, did you?)
• Er hatte viele Freunde.
  (He had many friends.)
• Wir hatten einen Hund.
  (We had a dog.)
• Ihr hattet ein großes Haus.
  (You had a big house.)
• Sie hatten einen tollen Urlaub.
  (They had a great holiday.)

Imperfect Forms of sein (to be)

The verb sein (to be) also has an irregular form in the imperfect tense. The conjugation of sein in the imperfect is as follows:

Example Sentences with sein in the Imperfect:

• Ich war gestern krank.
  (I was sick yesterday.)
• Du warst sehr müde.
  (You were very tired.)
• Er war im Urlaub.
  (He was on holiday.)
• Wir waren in der Schule.
  (We were at school.)
• Ihr wart beim Sport.
  (You were at sport.)
• Sie waren glücklich.
  (They were happy.)

Summary of haben and sein in the Imperfect Tense:

• The imperfect tense of haben is hatte, hattest, hatte, hatten, hattet, hatten.
• The imperfect tense of sein is war, warst, war, waren, wart, waren.
• These two verbs are irregular, and it is important to memorise their forms as they are commonly used in the imperfect tense.

Foundation Tier Examples:

• Ich hatte ein Buch.
  (I had a book.)
• Er war mein Freund.
  (He was my friend.)
• Wir hatten keine Zeit.
  (We had no time.)
• Du warst in der Stadt.
  (You were in the town.)

Higher Tier Examples:

• Ich hatte viele Hausaufgaben, aber keine Lust, sie zu machen.
  (I had a lot of homework, but no desire to do it.)
• Sie war schon den ganzen Tag unterwegs.
  (She had been out all day.)
• Wir waren im Museum, als es zu regnen begann.
  (We were in the museum when it started to rain.)
• Du hattest noch nie so viele Freunde wie jetzt.
  (You’ve never had so many friends as you do now.)

Key Vocabulary:

• Imperfect tense: Präteritum
• To have: haben
• To be: sein
• Yesterday: gestern
• Time: Zeit
• Holiday: Urlaub
• Friends: Freunde