Das Perfekt (Present perfect)
A2 German grammar — Daily Routine. The Perfekt is the most common past tense in spoken German. Form: auxiliary 'haben' or 'sein' + Partizip II at the end. …
Rule explained
The Perfekt is the most common past tense in spoken German. Form: auxiliary 'haben' or 'sein' + Partizip II at the end. Use 'sein' for movement / state-change verbs.
Examples
Use these mini-pairs as templates:
- Ich habe Pizza gegessen. — I have eaten pizza.
- Er ist nach Berlin gefahren. — He went to Berlin.
- Wir haben gearbeitet. — We have worked.
- Sie ist eingeschlafen. — She fell asleep.
- Hast du das gemacht? — Did you do that?
Common mistakes
Watch out for these learner errors:
- 'gehen, fahren, kommen, bleiben' → ALWAYS with 'sein'.
- Partizip II (gegessen, gemacht…) goes to the END.