klar↗A1 grammar topics

A1 · SUPPLEMENTARY GRAMMAR PRACTICE

Präteritum of sein and haben

War and hatte are useful past-tense forms even when most conversational past events use Perfekt. Use sein for a past state and haben for past possession or availability. These forms are irregular and do not take a second infinitive in a simple sentence.

Reference

Subjectseinhaben
ich / er / sie / eswarhatte
duwarsthattest
wir / sie / Siewarenhatten
ihrwarthattet

Try four exercises

Choose an answer, then check your work. No signup needed. Results stay on this page and do not add ranking points.

1. Gestern ___ ich müde.
Answer and explanation

war

Müde describes a state: ich war müde.

2. Wir ___ keine Zeit.
Answer and explanation

hatten

Use haben for having time: wir hatten.

3. Du ___ gestern hier.
Answer and explanation

warst

The du past form of sein is warst.

4. Ihr ___ ein Auto.
Answer and explanation

hattet

Ihr takes hattet.

Use it yourself

Write or say two new sentences using this pattern. Compare the forms and word order with the reference above.

Next: Genitiv possession questions and pronouns →