sagen simple past (Präteritum) conjugation
Sagen (to say, tell) in the simple past (Präteritum): sagte, sagtest, sagte, sagten, sagtet, sagten.
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).
Sagen is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: German past tense: Perfekt vs Präteritum
Sagen in a sentence
- Ich sage die Wahrheit.I say the truth.
- Sie hat nichts gesagt.She said nothing.
Regular weak verb; often used with dative person + accusative thing.
FAQ
What is the simple past (Präteritum) of sagen?
Sagen in the German simple past (Präteritum): ich sagte, du sagtest, er/sie/es sagte, wir sagten, ihr sagtet, sie/Sie sagten.
Is sagen irregular in the simple past (Präteritum)?
No. In the simple past (Präteritum) sagen takes the regular endings for its verb class, so sagte 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 sagen conjugation, all tenses →
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