fragen simple past (Präteritum) conjugation
Fragen (to ask) in the simple past (Präteritum): fragte, fragtest, fragte, fragten, fragtet, fragten.
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).
Fragen is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: German past tense: Perfekt vs Präteritum
Fragen in a sentence
- Ich frage dich etwas.I'm asking you something.
- Sie hat den Lehrer gefragt.She asked the teacher.
Regular verb; person asked takes accusative, topic with nach.
FAQ
What is the simple past (Präteritum) of fragen?
Fragen in the German simple past (Präteritum): ich fragte, du fragtest, er/sie/es fragte, wir fragten, ihr fragtet, sie/Sie fragten.
Is fragen irregular in the simple past (Präteritum)?
No. In the simple past (Präteritum) fragen takes the regular endings for its verb class, so fragte 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 fragen conjugation, all tenses →
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