Mit Perfekt und Präteritum beschreiben wir Ereignisse in der Vergangenheit. Zeitangaben wie gestern, letzte Woche, früher helfen bei der Wahl der richtigen Form.
(With the perfect and the simple past, we describe events in the past. Time indications such as yesterday, last week, earlier help in choosing the correct form.)
Die Präsidentin erklärte die neuen Maßnahmen. (The president explained the new measures.)
Beide kombiniert(Both combined)
Situation beschreiben + Ereignis erzählen (Describe a situation + tell an event)
Während wir über das Parlament sprachen, erklärte der Präsident das Gesetz. (While we were talking about the parliament, the president explained the law.)
Exceptions!
The choice of tense often depends on the context, not just on the time indication.
diskutiert, haben, führte, habe, war, gelernt, erklärte, gab
1. Geben:
In meiner Jugend ... es viele konservative Entscheidungen.
(In my youth, there were many conservative decisions.)
2. Analysieren:
Ich ... die politischen Parteien analysiert.
(I have analysed the political parties.)
3. Sein:
Die Bundeskanzlerin ... damals sehr populär.
(The Chancellor was very popular at the time.)
4. Lernen:
Ich ... gestern im Parlament über Gesetze ....
(I learned about laws in parliament yesterday.)
5. Diskutieren:
Wir ... im Unterricht über Wahlen ....
(We discussed elections in the lesson.)
6. Einführen:
Die Regierung ... früher wichtige Reformen ein.
(The government previously introduced important reforms.)
7. Erklären:
Die Präsidentin ... die neuen Maßnahmen.
(The president explained the new measures.)
8. Sein:
Früher ... die Demokratie in dieser Region schwach.
(In the past, democracy in this region was weak.)
Exercise 2: Multiple Choice
Instruction:
Select the correct sentence in the Präteritum or Perfekt tense to talk about past events in the context of government and elections. Pay attention to the proper use of the past tenses.
1.
Incorrect sentence structure: "has" at the end makes the sentence ungrammatical and meaningless.
Incorrect word order: After "has," the past participle should follow, not the finite verb in Präteritum.
2.
Incorrect word order and combination: "have" must not appear at the end, and tenses are mixed improperly.
Wrong verb form: After "have," the past participle must follow, not the simple past (Präteritum).
3.
Incorrect verb construction: "has" followed by a simple past (Präteritum) is wrong; it must be followed by the past participle.
Infinitive instead of past participle: After "has," the past participle must be used, not the infinitive.
4.
Double "have" at the end makes the sentence grammatically incorrect.
Incorrect combination of tenses and verb forms; "have" at the end is incorrect.
Exercise 3: Rewrite the phrases
Instruction:
Listen: In the sentences below the verb is in the present tense. Write the sentences in the past — use the present perfect for everyday experiences and the simple past for reports or historical statements.
