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Neu in Deutschland: 'hatte', 'war', 'es gab', imperfect tense singular & plural
I can use the perfect and imperfect tenses to understand the recent experiences of a young person arriving to live and study in Germany.
Lesson 2 of 3
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- Year 10
- AQA
Neu in Deutschland: 'hatte', 'war', 'es gab', imperfect tense singular & plural
I can use the perfect and imperfect tenses to understand the recent experiences of a young person arriving to live and study in Germany.
Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Use the imperfect forms 'hatte', 'war', 'gab' to talk about the past instead of the perfect tense.
- Imperfect weak verbs are formed like 'lernen'.
- Imperfect strong verbs take the same endings as 'liegen'.
Keywords
Perfect tense - German two-word past tense using either 'haben' or 'sein' with a past participle
Imperfect tense - German single-word past tense, also called the simple past
Common misconception
The imperfect tense is never used in spoken German.
The most common irregular verbs 'haben' and 'sein' are very common in speaking, along with 'es gab'. Other verbs in the imperfect mainly appear in written texts.
Learning Cycle 1 is suitable for both Foundation and Higher tiers. Learning Cycle 2 covers the imperfect tense of verbs at Higher tier.
Teacher tip
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Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The English words below are cognates or near-cognates in German. Which ones change spelling in German?
The English words below are cognates or near-cognates in German. Which ones change spelling in German?
situation
integration
religion
Q2.Match the German and English.
Match the German and English.
Q3.Which of the following sentences are in the perfect tense?
Which of the following sentences are in the perfect tense?
Ich mache das gleich.
Er hatte keine Idee.
Q4.Match the imperfect forms of 'sein' and 'haben' to the correct English meanings.
Match the imperfect forms of 'sein' and 'haben' to the correct English meanings.
Q5.'Es gibt' means __________. 'Es gab' is the imperfect tense form, meaning __________. For example: 'Es __________ im Winter Schnee in den Alpen, aber letztes Jahr __________ es nicht genug!'
'Es gibt' means __________. 'Es gab' is the imperfect tense form, meaning __________. For example: 'Es __________ im Winter Schnee in den Alpen, aber letztes Jahr __________ es nicht genug!'
Q6.'Hatte', 'war' and 'es gab' are frequently used in writing and speaking in German to describe past events. Other forms of the imperfect tense are mostly used in .
'Hatte', 'war' and 'es gab' are frequently used in writing and speaking in German to describe past events. Other forms of the imperfect tense are mostly used in .
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following statements about the German imperfect tense are true?
Which of the following statements about the German imperfect tense are true?
All German verbs have the same endings in the imperfect tense.
'Es gab' means 'there is' or 'there are'.
Q2.Sort the imperfect verb forms below into the following order: (1) I (and he/she/it) (2) you (singular), (3) we, (4) you (plural).
Sort the imperfect verb forms below into the following order: (1) I (and he/she/it) (2) you (singular), (3) we, (4) you (plural).
Q3.Irregular verb stems in the imperfect tense need to be learnt, but the past participle and the imperfect stem are often similar. Match the German to the English simple past equivalent.
Irregular verb stems in the imperfect tense need to be learnt, but the past participle and the imperfect stem are often similar. Match the German to the English simple past equivalent.
Q4.Match the German and English.
Match the German and English.
Q5.What is a 'Wohngemeinschaft' or 'WG'?
What is a 'Wohngemeinschaft' or 'WG'?
an individual flat with one resident
an individual room in a student hall of residence
a room in a student hostel
the German word for 'rent'
Q6.Write the following sentence in German: 'I had a book.'
Write the following sentence in German: 'I had a book.'
