The tenses tag has no wiki summary.
1
vote
1answer
71 views
How to translate Perfekt into English
I came across these sentences with their translations:
Du bist aus Berlin gekommen. - You have come from Berlin.
Wo seid ihr so lange gewesen? - Where were you so long?
From what I have ...
1
vote
1answer
156 views
Modal verbs: preterite or perfect?
I was told that while speaking people generally use perfect instead of preterite. Is it also common for modal verbs? Which is used in which cases?
Ich konnte ...
or
Ich habe gekonnt ...
7
votes
3answers
441 views
Usage of Perfekt and Präteritum in the spoken language
I have read the question When to use Perfekt and Präteritum? but it doesn't answer my question.
I am looking for a rule for beginner / intermediate level learners which tells when to use Perfekt or ...
6
votes
4answers
236 views
What's this structure called?
I don't understand the structure used in this exercise:
What's it called?
4
votes
2answers
224 views
Differences between “muss gut gewesen sein” vs. “musste gut sein”
What is the difference between "muss gut gewesen sein" and "musste gut sein"? For example, I was told
Das Konzert muss wirklich gut gewesen sein.
I have three questions:
What is this tense of ...
9
votes
3answers
339 views
Tense and Aspect
Most linguists recognize two tenses in English, present and past, although other verb forms are often mistakenly described as tenses. I walk is present tense and I walked is past tense. A form such as ...
20
votes
4answers
5k views
When to use Perfekt and Präteritum?
What's the guideline as to when to use Perfekt and Präteritum?
I was always taught that the simplest rule is Präteritum (mostly) for written forms, and Perfekt is most common in spoken language.
But ...
