sein, haben, and modals in the preterite
Use the most frequent spoken past forms.
The rule
Learn war, hatte and the modal past stems. These preterite forms are common in speech too; modal verbs normally keep another verb as an infinitive.
war/hatte/konnte/musste/wollte/durfte/sollte
sein and haben use war and hatte stems.
Modal preterites lose their umlaut and take regular past endings.
With a second verb, the modal preterite is finite and the infinitive remains final.
Core forms and structures
Use this table as a reference, then retrieve the forms without looking.
| Form | Function | German example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pattern 1 | War is the common conversational preterite of sein. | Ich war gestern krank. | I was ill yesterday. |
| Pattern 2 | Hatten is the compact preterite of haben. | Wir hatten keine Zeit. | We had no time. |
| Pattern 3 | Modal preterite is finite; arbeiten remains final. | Sie musste lange arbeiten. | She had to work for a long time. |
| Pattern 4 | Past ability uses konnte without an umlaut. | Konntest du kommen? | Were you able to come? |
| Pattern 5 | Durften expresses past permission. | Die Kinder durften draußen spielen. | The children were allowed to play outside. |
German examples with English meanings
Ich war gestern krank.
I was ill yesterday.
War is the common conversational preterite of sein.
Wir hatten keine Zeit.
We had no time.
Hatten is the compact preterite of haben.
Sie musste lange arbeiten.
She had to work for a long time.
Modal preterite is finite; arbeiten remains final.
Konntest du kommen?
Were you able to come?
Past ability uses konnte without an umlaut.
Die Kinder durften draußen spielen.
The children were allowed to play outside.
Durften expresses past permission.
Common mistakes
Incorrect: Ich bin gestern krank gewesen.
Correct: Ich war gestern krank.
War is the common conversational preterite of sein.
Incorrect: Wir haben keine Zeit gehabt.
Correct: Wir hatten keine Zeit.
Hatten is the compact preterite of haben.
Incorrect: Sie gemusst lange arbeiten.
Correct: Sie musste lange arbeiten.
Modal preterite is finite; arbeiten remains final.
Incorrect: Könntest du kommen gestern?
Correct: Konntest du kommen?
Past ability uses konnte without an umlaut.
Incorrect: Die Kinder dürften draußen gespielt.
Correct: Die Kinder durften draußen spielen.
Durften expresses past permission.
Details and useful distinctions
Use context and time phrases to anchor past meaning.
Practise this grammar
Remember war, hatte, and modal stem + -te without an umlaut; keep any second action as a final infinitive.
Open sein, haben, and modals in the preterite exercises →
For source references and editorial level notes, see the grammar reference. You can report a correction if an explanation or example seems wrong.