GrammarA1· Urlaub & Jahreszeiten

war und hatte — und das Datum

The past of sein and haben — and dates

Kartoffel · your teacher

Hi! Let's look at this one together — step by step, no rush.

From what you know

Ich habe Fußball gespielt.Ich war acht und durfte Fußball spielen.

6 parts · about 5 min

1What & when

In one line

For the past of sein and haben, say war and hatte.

Before

Ich bin im Kino.

Watch the sentence change …

bin becomes war: one word, still in .

„Ich war im Kino.“ — I was at the cinema.

Kartoffel

First, what is it?

Most verbs talk about the past with the , the usual past tense in speech: But sein and haben are different. Germans usually use their short past forms instead: ich war and ich hatte. They do it even in a quick chat on the stairs.

Kartoffel

And when do you need it? More often than you'd think:

Urlaub & JahreszeitenAfter every holiday someone asks: – And they want to know when: im Juli, am ersten August, vom zweiten bis zum sechzehnten August.

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