As a beginner German student, you all must have dreamed of traveling to Germany. Apart from present tense, German perfect tense is something you will have to master, if you want to have a good conversation with a native speaker. Knowing how to use the present perfect tense will surely make you a better speaker.
Index
When and How to use the German Perfect Tense
The present perfect tense is used in spoken language instead of simple past tense. It is used to talk about an event that happened in the past. We do tend to talk about our past many times. Now you know, why it is so important to learn the German perfect tense!
The German perfect tense is built with the help of haben / sein in the present tense and past participle (Partizip II) of another verb. The helping verb (Haben / Sein) is conjugated according to the subject of the sentence and takes the second position. The past participle of the other verb is placed at the end of the sentence.
Usually, German perfect tense is formed with “haben“. Most of the verbs that take a direct object use haben. Verbs that do not indicate change of state or location also use haben.
When to use “Sein”
Verbs that express movement and change of state use sein. What exactly does this mean? Movement means when the subject physically changes the locations. For example, gehen, fahren, rennen, fliegen, kommen, reisen, laufen etc.
Change of state means when the subject’s condition changes from ‘State A’ to ‘State B’. This change of condition does not involve change of place. For example, einschlafen, aufwachen, wachsen, sterben, verwelken, werden etc.
Go through our lesson on verbs if you don’t remember how to conjugate haben and sein in present tense.
Bleiben (to stay) and Sein (to be) also use sein, even though they do not express movement or change of state.

How to construct the Past Participles
When it comes to learning a new grammar concept in German language, there are always a few exceptions. And German perfect tense is no different! The construction of past participles varies based on the types of verbs.
Weak Verbs
The past participles of weak (regular) verbs are formed by adding ‘ge‘ at the beginning and ‘t’ at the end of the verb stem. Let’s consider the verb lernen (to learn). Its past participle will be:
ge + lern + t = gelernt
If the verb stem ends in d / t / m, the past participle is formed by adding ‘ge‘ at the beginning and an ‘et‘ at the end. Let’s consider the verb warten (to wait). Its past participle will be:
ge + wart + et = gewartet
Past participles of the verbs ending in ‘ieren’ are formed without ‘ge’. However, we do add ‘t’ at the end of the verb stem. Let’s consider the verb studieren (to study). Its past participle will be:
studier + t = studiert
List of some weak verbs for you to memorize:-
English Verb | German Verb | Partizip II |
to work | arbeiten | gearbeitet |
to breathe | atmen | geatmet |
to form | bilden | gebildet |
to need | brauchen | gebraucht |
to follow | folgen | gefolgt |
to ask | fragen | gefragt |
to feel | fühlen | gefühlt |
to believe | glauben | geglaubt |
to interest | interessieren | interessiert |
to buy | kaufen | gekauft |
to cook | kochen | gekocht |
to live | leben | gelebt |
to lay | legen | gelegt |
to make / do | machen | gemacht |
to note down | notieren | notiert |
to pack | packen | gepackt |
to talk | reden | geredet |
to say | sagen | gesagt |
to play | spielen | gespielt |
to put / place | stellen | gestellt |
to search | suchen | gesucht |
to dance | tanzen | getanzt |
to call | telefonieren | telefoniert |
to reside / live | wohnen | gewohnt |
to show | zeigen | gezeigt |
to be supposed to | sollen | gesollt |
to want | wollen | gewollt |
Strong Verbs
The past participles of strong (irregular) verbs are a bit complex. The ‘-en’ of the infinitive form remains as it is. There is no ‘-t’ at the end of the verb stem. We do add ‘-ge’ at the beginning. But, here’s the complex part. The verb stem changes most of the times.
For example, the past participle of gehen (to go) is gegangen.
Sometimes, the vowels in the verb stem get rearranged. For example, the past participle of bleiben (to stay) is geblieben. Here, ‘ei’ changes to ‘ie’.
List of some strong verbs for you to memorize:-
English Verb | German Verb | Partizip II |
to offer | bieten | geboten |
to bite | beißen | gebissen |
to bind | binden | gebunden |
to request | bitten | gebeten |
to roast / fry | braten | gebraten |
to break | brechen | gebrochen |
to eat | essen | gegessen |
to drive | fahren | gefahren |
to fall | fallen | gefallen |
to catch | fangen | gefangen |
to find | finden | gefunden |
to fly | fliegen | geflogen |
to give | geben | gegeben |
to pour | gießen | gegossen |
to grasp / grab | greifen | gegriffen |
to stop | halten | gehalten |
to lift | heben | gehoben |
to help | helfen | geholfen |
to sound | klingen | geklungen |
to come | kommen | gekommen |
to run | laufen | gelaufen |
to read | lesen | gelesen |
to lend | leihen | geliehen |
to lie | liegen | gelegen |
to take | nehmen | genommen |
to ride | reiten | geritten |
to smell | riechen | gerochen |
to close | schließen | geschlossen |
to cut | schneiden | geschnitten |
to write | schreiben | geschrieben |
to swim | schwimmen | geschwommen |
to see | sehen | gesehen |
to be | sein | gewesen |
to sing | singen | gesungen |
to sink | sinken | gesunken |
to sit | sitzen | gesessen |
to speak | sprechen | gesprochen |
to jump | springen | gesprungen |
to stand | stehen | gestanden |
to climb | steigen | gestiegen |
to die | sterben | gestorben |
to argue | streiten | gestritten |
to wear | tragen | getragen |
to meet | treffen | getroffen |
to drink | trinken | getrunken |
to wash | waschen | gewaschen |
to become | werden | geworden |
to throw | werfen | geworfen |
to pull | ziehen | gezogen |
to force | zwingen | gezwungen |
Mixed Verbs
The past participles of mixed verbs are a combination of weak and strong verbs. A ‘-t’ is added at the end of the verb stem just like weak verbs. And like strong verbs, the verb stem changes.
For example, the past participle of wissen (to know) is gewusst.
List of some mixed verbs for you to memorize:-
English Verb | German Verb | Partizip II |
to burn | brennen | gebrannt |
to bring | bringen | gebracht |
to think | denken | gedacht |
to know | kennen | gekannt |
to name / mention | nennen | genannt |
to run | rennen | gerannt |
to send | senden | gesandt |
to turn | wenden | gewandt |
to be allowed to | dürfen | gedurft |
to be able to | können | gekonnt |
to like | mögen | gemocht |
to have to | müssen | gemusst |
There are two Partizip II forms of senden and wenden. Senden – gesandt / gesendet. Wenden – gewandt / gewendet

Separable Verbs
As the name suggests, the prefixes of these verbs are separable. The past participle of separable verbs is formed by adding ‘-ge’ after the prefix. The rules of weak, strong and mixed verbs apply to these verbs as well. Let’s consider the verb zumachen (to close / shut).
zu + ge + mach + t = zugemacht (We add ‘-ge‘ between the prefix and verb stem.)
List of some separable verbs for you to memorize:-
English Verb | German Verb | Partizip II |
to offer | anbieten | angeboten |
to arrive | ankommen | angekommen |
to begin | anfangen | angefangen |
to call | anrufen | angerufen |
to adapt | anpassen | angepasst |
to look | aussehen | ausgesehen |
to go out | ausgehen | ausgegangen |
to pronounce | aussprechen | ausgesprochen |
to try out | ausprobieren | ausprobiert |
to get up | aufstehen | aufgestanden |
to stop / end | aufhören | aufgehört |
to wake up | aufwachen | aufgewacht |
to open | aufmachen | aufgemacht |
to burn down | abbrennen | abgebrannt |
to depart | abfahren | abgefahren |
to pick up | abholen | abgeholt |
to cancel | absagen | abgesagt |
to contribute | beitragen | beigetragen |
to shop | einkaufen | eingekauft |
to invite | einladen | eingeladen |
to tumble | hinfallen | hingefallen |
to bring along | mitbringen | mitgebracht |
to take along | mitnehmen | mitgenommen |
to ponder | nachdenken | nachgedacht |
to prepare | vorbereiten | vorbereitet |
to suggest | vorschlagen | vorgeschlagen |
to introduce | vorstellen | vorgestellt |
to cover / tuck | zudecken | zugedeckt |
to agree | zustimmen | zugestimmt |
Inseparable Verbs
As the name suggests, the prefixes of these verbs are inseparable. The past participle of inseparable verbs is formed without ‘-ge’. The rules of weak, strong and mixed verbs apply to these verbs too. Let’s consider the verb besuchen (to visit).
besuch + t = besucht (We do not add ‘-ge‘ here.)
List of some inseparable verbs for you to memorize:-
English Verb | German Verb | Partizip II |
to receive | bekommen | bekommen |
to answer / reply | beantworten | beantwortet |
to start | beginnen | begonnen |
to use | benutzen | benutzt |
to pay | bezahlen | bezahlt |
to recommend | empfehlen | empfohlen |
to feel | empfinden | empfunden |
to dismiss / fire | entlassen | entlassen |
to relax | entspannen | entspannt |
to decide | entscheiden | entschieden |
to invent | erfinden | erfunden |
to recognize / identify | erkennen | erkannt |
to allow / permit | erlauben | erlaubt |
to experience | erleben | erlebt |
to expect | erwarten | erwartet |
to belong to | gehören | gehört |
to appeal to / like | gefallen | gefallen |
to win | gewinnen | gewonnen |
to disobey | missachten | missachtet |
to suspect | misstrauen | misstraut |
to connect | verbinden | verbunden |
to forget | vergessen | vergessen |
to compare | vergleichen | verglichen |
to sell | verkaufen | verkauft |
to lose | verlieren | verloren |
to understand | verstehen | verstanden |
to shatter / snap | zerbrechen | zerbrochen |
to destroy | zerstören | zerstört |
Here are a few German perfect tense example sentences:-
- Ich habe den deutschen Satz verstanden. (I understood the German sentence.)
- Gestern ist er nach London geflogen. (Yesterday he flew to London.)
- Wir haben am Morgen unsere Hausaufgaben gemacht. (We did our homework in the morning.)
German Grammar Quiz
Do you want to practice what you learned in this lesson? Take this quiz to test your knowledge of German Perfect Tense.
If you enjoyed learning this lesson, also check out the topic Past Tense in German on your favorite blog “All About Deutsch”.
Want to learn more about German Perfect Tense? Have a look at this article on ThoughtCo.
PS – On this blog, you will find grammar lessons just like this one, vocabulary lists divided subject-wise as well as articles related to countries like Germany, Austria and Switzerland and a lot more. Keep scrolling, keep learning!
Hallo, Danke für den Beitrag. Hat wirklich Spass gemacht zu lesen, sehr Informativ, gerne mehr davon 🙂
Vielen Dank, Illa. Das freut mich sehr! 🙂
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Hello, can anyone please suggest a website to learn german seriously online with a professor? I’ve been doing german for 2 years now but I feel like I don’t have a plan to study. Today I’ll do present perfect and a week later I’ll forget about it.. I need a real beneficial guideline if that makes sense.. Dankeschön!!!!
Spot on with this write-up, thanks for the info!
Ich habe Deutsch für zwei jahre im Schule gerlernt, aber ich habe ganz alle vergessen
Correct? 🙂
Correct is :-
Zwei Jahre / Zwei Jahre lang habe ich Deutsch in der Schule gelernt, aber ich habe alles komplett vergessen. 🙂