Simple past in stories and written German

In brief

In German stories, reports, and other written accounts of past events, the Präteritum (simple past) often carries the main sequence of actions. It lets a narrator move from one event to the next without repeatedly using a helping verb. In everyday conversation, speakers more often use the Perfekt for many of these same verbs.

Form

For regular verbs, add -te and a personal ending to the stem: öffnen → öffnete, öffneten. Many irregular verbs change their stem vowel instead: gehen → ging, schreiben → schrieb; their first- and third-person singular forms have no extra ending.

Usage

• Use the Präteritum to tell what happened next in a written story.
• Keep the narrative in the same tense when describing a sequence of past actions.

Examples

• Der Regen begann, und wir gingen nach Hause. — The rain started, and we went home.
• Sie öffnete den Brief und las die Nachricht. — She opened the letter and read the message.
• Am nächsten Morgen schrieb er seiner Schwester. — The next morning, he wrote to his sister.

Common mistake

❌ Er gehte nach Hause.

✅ Er ging nach Hause.

Gehen has an irregular simple past form: ging. Do not add the regular -te ending to this verb.

Remember

In a written story, look for Präteritum forms such as ging, las, and schrieb to follow the order of events.