A2Tenses

German Perfect Tense (Perfekt)

The perfect tense is the most common past tense in spoken German. It uses haben or sein + past participle.

Key Rules

  • 1Form: haben/sein + past participle
  • 2Most verbs use 'haben' as auxiliary
  • 3Motion and state-change verbs use 'sein'
  • 4Regular past participle: ge- + stem + -t (gemacht)
  • 5Irregular past participle: ge- + stem + -en (gegangen)

Examples

Ich habe gegessen.

I have eaten. / I ate.

💡 'Essen' uses 'haben' - most verbs do.

Er ist gegangen.

He has gone. / He went.

💡 'Gehen' (motion verb) uses 'sein' as auxiliary.

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Ich habe gegangen.→✓ Ich bin gegangen.

Motion verbs like 'gehen' require 'sein', not 'haben'.

Related Grammar Topics

Tenses
German Present Tense (Präsens)
A1
Tenses
German Simple Past Tense (Präteritum)
B1

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