leben simple past (Präteritum) conjugation
Leben (to live) in the simple past (Präteritum): lebte, lebtest, lebte, lebten, lebtet, lebten.
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).
Leben is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: German past tense: Perfekt vs Präteritum
Leben in a sentence
- Ich lebe seit zwei Jahren in Berlin.I have been living in Berlin for two years.
- Meine Großeltern haben auf dem Land gelebt.My grandparents lived in the countryside.
Regular verb; often used with in + Dativ for location.
FAQ
What is the simple past (Präteritum) of leben?
Leben in the German simple past (Präteritum): ich lebte, du lebtest, er/sie/es lebte, wir lebten, ihr lebtet, sie/Sie lebten.
Is leben irregular in the simple past (Präteritum)?
No. In the simple past (Präteritum) leben takes the regular endings for its verb class, so lebte 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 leben conjugation, all tenses →
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