The narrative preterite
Use common written past forms in connected narration.
The rule
Use the preterite for sustained written narration. Regular verbs add -te; learn irregular past stems and mixed forms with their infinitives.
regular stem + -te · irregular past stem · mixed past stem + -te
Use the preterite consistently in sustained written narration.
Regular verbs take -te endings; irregular verbs use a memorised stem and no -te.
Mixed verbs such as bringen and denken change stem and add -te.
Core forms and structures
Use this table as a reference, then retrieve the forms without looking.
| Form | Function | German example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pattern 1 | Regular narrative preterite uses stem + -te. | Sie öffnete die Tür und wartete. | She opened the door and waited. |
| Pattern 2 | Gehen has the irregular preterite ging. | Er ging nach Hause. | He went home. |
| Pattern 3 | Kommen has the irregular preterite kam; prefix stays final. | Der Zug kam pünktlich an. | The train arrived on time. |
| Pattern 4 | Bringen is mixed: brachte. | Mia brachte einen Kuchen mit. | Mia brought a cake along. |
| Pattern 5 | Sehen has past stem sah; after adverb-first, verb remains second. | Plötzlich sah er ein Licht. | Suddenly he saw a light. |
German examples with English meanings
Sie öffnete die Tür und wartete.
She opened the door and waited.
Regular narrative preterite uses stem + -te.
Er ging nach Hause.
He went home.
Gehen has the irregular preterite ging.
Der Zug kam pünktlich an.
The train arrived on time.
Kommen has the irregular preterite kam; prefix stays final.
Mia brachte einen Kuchen mit.
Mia brought a cake along.
Bringen is mixed: brachte.
Plötzlich sah er ein Licht.
Suddenly he saw a light.
Sehen has past stem sah; after adverb-first, verb remains second.
Common mistakes
Incorrect: Sie öffnete die Tür und gewartet.
Correct: Sie öffnete die Tür und wartete.
Regular narrative preterite uses stem + -te.
Incorrect: Er gehte nach Hause.
Correct: Er ging nach Hause.
Gehen has the irregular preterite ging.
Incorrect: Der Zug kommte pünktlich an.
Correct: Der Zug kam pünktlich an.
Kommen has the irregular preterite kam; prefix stays final.
Incorrect: Mia bringte einen Kuchen mit.
Correct: Mia brachte einen Kuchen mit.
Bringen is mixed: brachte.
Incorrect: Plötzlich er sah ein Licht.
Correct: Plötzlich sah er ein Licht.
Sehen has past stem sah; after adverb-first, verb remains second.
Details and useful distinctions
Time clauses and adverbs organise the sequence while verb-second remains active.
Practise this grammar
Group verbs as regular, irregular, or mixed and learn frequent irregulars in complete narrative sentences.
Open The narrative 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.