haben simple past (Präteritum) conjugation
Haben (to have) in the simple past (Präteritum): hatte, hattest, hatte, hatten, hattet, hatten.
Präteritum Simple past
| ich | regular: habte |
|---|---|
| du | regular: habtest |
| er/sie/es | regular: habte |
| wir | regular: habten |
| ihr | regular: habtet |
| sie/Sie | regular: habten |
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).
Haben is irregular here. 6 of 6 forms break the pattern (dark tiles above); the regular pattern would give habte, habtest, habte, habten, habtet, habten.
Read more: German past tense: Perfekt vs Präteritum
Haben in a sentence
- Ich habe einen Hund.I have a dog.
- Sie hatte keine Zeit.She had no time.
Irregular du hast/er hat; main Perfekt auxiliary for most verbs.
FAQ
What is the simple past (Präteritum) of haben?
Haben in the German simple past (Präteritum): ich hatte, du hattest, er/sie/es hatte, wir hatten, ihr hattet, sie/Sie hatten.
Is haben irregular in the simple past (Präteritum)?
Yes. 6 of 6 forms break the regular pattern: ich hatte (regular would be habte); du hattest (regular would be habtest); er/sie/es hatte (regular would be habte); wir hatten (regular would be habten); ihr hattet (regular would be habtet); sie/Sie hatten (regular would be habten).
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 haben conjugation, all tenses →
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