wollen simple past (Präteritum) conjugation
Wollen (to want) in the simple past (Präteritum): wollte, wolltest, wollte, wollten, wolltet, wollten.
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).
Wollen is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: German past tense: Perfekt vs Präteritum
Wollen in a sentence
- Ich will nach Hause gehen.I want to go home.
- Wir wollten ins Kino gehen.We wanted to go to the cinema.
Modal verb; ich/er will (irregular), no umlaut in singular present.
FAQ
What is the simple past (Präteritum) of wollen?
Wollen in the German simple past (Präteritum): ich wollte, du wolltest, er/sie/es wollte, wir wollten, ihr wolltet, sie/Sie wollten.
Is wollen irregular in the simple past (Präteritum)?
No. In the simple past (Präteritum) wollen takes the regular endings for its verb class, so wollte 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 wollen conjugation, all tenses →
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