The Simple Past in German

First and foremost you need to understand this one vital difference between English and German when it comes to the simple past:

The simple past is the most frequent tense used in both conversational and written English to describe an event that has happened in the past. On the other hand, the simple past is usually not expressed in spoken German – in fact in some southern German dialects, “das Präteritum” has been completely eradicated. The simple past in German is mostly used in written works, such as in stories:

Es war einmal ein Ehepaar… (There once was a married couple.)
Der Junge schleichte sich langsam zur Tür hin und wartete einen Moment. Dann riss er die Tür plötztlich auf und fing an laut zu schreien... (The boy quietly crept to the door and waited for a moment. Then he suddenly flung the door open and began to scream…)

Quick Facts About the Simple Past

• The simple past is used mostly in written German to describe an event or action that both started and ended in the past.
• The simple past in German is also identified as das Imperfekt.
• Special case: Modal verbs and the verbs haben (to have), sein (to be) and wissen (to know) are exceptions – they, unlike other verbs, will be used mostly in the simple past tense in spoken German.
• The common verb möchten (to want) has no past tense. The verb wollen is used instead:
  Ich möchte einen Keks (I would like a cookie.) -> Ich wollte einen Keks ( I wanted a cookie.)
• The Formation of the Simple Past Tense in German
  German verbs are divided into weak and strong verbs and are conjugated into the simple past tense accordingly:
  
  1. Weak Verbs: As with other tenses, weak verbs follow a predictable pattern here as well.
     Verbstem + -te +Personal ending
     Take note: When the stem of a weak verb ends in either d or t, then –ete will be added:
     Ich rede zu viel (I talk too much) -> Ich redete damals zu viel. (I spoke too much then)
     Er arbeitet morgen. (He is working tomorrow) -> Er arbeitete ständig jeden Tag. (He worked steadily each day)
     To a beginner, this double te “stutter” sound may seem odd at first, but you see it so often in text that it will soon become second nature to you.
     lachen (to laugh) &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp sich duschen (To shower)
     Ich lachte &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Ich duschte mich
     Du lachtest &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Du duschtest dich
     Er/Sie/ Es lachte &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Er/Sie/Es duschte sich
     Wir lachten &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Wir duschten uns
     Ihr lachtet &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Ihr duschtet euch
     Sie lachten &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Sie duschten sich
  2. Strong Verbs: As with other tenses, strong verbs do not follow a predictable pattern. Their verb stem changes. It is best to just memorize them. Sometimes the consonants change too, but thankfully not as drastically:
     ß->ss &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp schmeißen -> schmiss
     ss->ß &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp giessen -> goß
     d-> tt &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp schneiden -> schnitt
     The simple past tense of some common strong German verbs:
     fahren (to drive) &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp stehen (To stand)
     Ich fuhr &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Ich stand
     Du fuhrst &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Du stand(e)st
     Er/Sie/ Es fuhr &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Er/Sie/Es stand
     Wir fuhren &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Wir standen
     Ihr fuhrt &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Ihr standet
     Sie fuhren &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Sie standen
     A small number of strong verbs have two simple past tense forms. Some of these are common verbs:
     erschrecken (to get scared/ to scare)-> erschrak/ erschreckte
     hauen (to hit) -> hieb/ haute (more common)
     stecken (to get stuck) – stak/ steckte (more common)
  3. Mixed Verbs: Mixed verbs are those verbs which have elements of both strong and weak verbs. In the case of the simple past that would mean that the stem vowel changes and the endings follow the pattern of weak verbs. A good example of mixed verbs is modal verbs. They are conjugated as follows:

  		können	sollen	wollen	müssen	dürfen	mögen
  	Ich	konnte	sollte	wollte	musste	konnte	mochte
  	Du	konntest	solltest	wolltest	musstest	konntest	mochtest
  	Er/Sie/Es	konnte	sollte	wollte	musste	konnte	mochte
  	Wir	konnten	sollten	wollten	mussten	konnten	mochten
  	Ihr	konntet	solltet	wolltet	musstet	konntet	mochtet
  	Sie	konnten	sollten	wollten	mussten	konnten	mochten