The simple past tense of irregular verbs
Reminder: we use the simple past tense to express completed actions in the past. The simple past tense is mainly used when writing and when telling stories.
Als Anna Tennis spielte, schien die Sonne.scheinen, Präteritum
While Anna was playing tennis, the sun was shining.
Eines Tages starb die Chefin des Bandenbutt Hotels.sterben, Präteritum
One day the boss of the Brandenbutt Hotel died.
With irregular verbs in the simple past tense, the vowel in the verb stem always changes. There are no set rules for this, so you have to learn each verb by heart:
du fuhrst
er/sie/es fuhr
wir fuhren
ihr fuhrt
sie/Sie fuhren
du kamst
er/sie/es kam
wir kamen
ihr kamt
sie/Sie kamen
For verbs such as bringen (to bring, to take) or denken (to think) we also add a t + personal ending.
Anna dachte oft an ihre Großmutter. denken, Präteritum
Anna often thought of her grandmother.
Er brachte mir ein Geschenk. bringen, Präteritum
He brought me a present.
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