arbeiten simple past (Präteritum) conjugation
Arbeiten (to work) in the simple past (Präteritum): arbeitete, arbeitetest, arbeitete, arbeiteten, arbeitetet, arbeiteten.
Präteritum Simple past
| ich | |
|---|---|
| du | |
| er/sie/es | |
| wir | |
| ihr | |
| sie/Sie |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the simple past (Präteritum)
The Präteritum is the past tense of written narrative. In speech it is used mainly for sein, haben, werden and the modal verbs; other verbs usually take the Perfekt.
How it is formed
Weak verbs add te, test, te, ten, tet, ten to the stem (machte). Strong verbs change the stem vowel and take no ending in ich and er/sie/es (ging, sah, kam).
Arbeiten is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: German past tense: Perfekt vs Präteritum
Arbeiten in a sentence
- Er arbeitet in einer Bank.He works at a bank.
- Sie hat den ganzen Tag gearbeitet.She worked all day.
Regular; extra 'e' before endings starting with consonant (du arbeitest, er arbeitet).
FAQ
What is the simple past (Präteritum) of arbeiten?
Arbeiten in the German simple past (Präteritum): ich arbeitete, du arbeitetest, er/sie/es arbeitete, wir arbeiteten, ihr arbeitetet, sie/Sie arbeiteten.
Is arbeiten irregular in the simple past (Präteritum)?
No. In the simple past (Präteritum) arbeiten takes the regular endings for its verb class, so arbeitete follows the same pattern as any regular verb.
When do you use the German simple past (Präteritum)?
The Präteritum is the past tense of written narrative. In speech it is used mainly for sein, haben, werden and the modal verbs; other verbs usually take the Perfekt.
How is the simple past (Präteritum) formed?
Weak verbs add te, test, te, ten, tet, ten to the stem (machte). Strong verbs change the stem vowel and take no ending in ich and er/sie/es (ging, sah, kam).
Full arbeiten conjugation, all tenses →
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