German Present Perfect Tense (Perfekt)

What's included here

The German present perfect tense (Perfekt) is one of the main ways to talk about the past, particularly in everyday conversation. It's formed with the present tense of haben or sein and a past participle (Partizip II). This guide explains how to form the Perfekt, choose the correct auxiliary verb, use it in sentences and distinguish it from other German past tenses.

If you ask someone in German what they did at the weekend, you'll probably hear sentences like these:

All three sentences use the Perfekt. Notice that each contains two verbs: a form of haben or sein and a past participle.

What Is the German Perfekt Tense?

The Perfekt is a compound past tense used to talk about past events, actions and experiences.

It's particularly common in spoken German, where it's often the default way to describe what happened.

Although its name translates to "present perfect", the German Perfekt doesn't work exactly like the English present perfect.

In English, we distinguish between:

• I watched a film yesterday.
• I've watched that film before.

German can use the Perfekt for both meanings.

How to Form the German Perfekt

The Perfekt consists of two parts:

1. A conjugated auxiliary verb: haben or sein.
2. The past participle (Partizip II) of the main verb.

The basic structure is:

Subject + haben/sein + other information + past participle

The auxiliary verb changes according to the subject, while the past participle remains unchanged.

Perfekt with Haben

Most German verbs form the Perfekt with haben.

Here's the complete conjugation using machen (to do / to make).

The past participle gemacht stays the same for every person.

Only haben changes.

Perfekt with Sein

Some verbs form the Perfekt with sein instead.

For example, gehen (to go):

Again, the past participle stays the same. Only the auxiliary verb changes.

Haben or Sein: Which One Do You Use?

Choosing between haben and sein is one of the most important parts of forming the Perfekt.

Most Verbs Use Haben

The majority of German verbs form the Perfekt with haben.

This includes most verbs that take an accusative object, as well as many verbs describing activities, thoughts and feelings.

Common verbs using haben include:

Sein with Movement to a Destination

Many intransitive verbs describing movement from one place to another use sein.

Common examples include:

• gehen - ist gegangen
• kommen - ist gekommen
• fahren - ist gefahren
• fliegen - ist geflogen
• laufen - ist gelaufen
• reisen - ist gereist
• ankommen - ist angekommen

However, movement alone doesn't automatically mean sein.

Verbs such as tanzen, schwimmen and fahren can take different auxiliaries depending on their meaning and use.

Sein with a Change of State

Verbs describing a transition from one state to another also commonly use sein.

Other examples include:

• aufstehen - ist aufgestanden
• einschlafen - ist eingeschlafen
• aufwachen - ist aufgewacht
• sterben - ist gestorben
• wachsen - ist gewachsen
• verschwinden - ist verschwunden

The verbs sein and bleiben also form their Perfekt with sein:

Verbs That Can Use Haben or Sein

Some verbs can take either auxiliary, depending on whether they describe an activity, a change of location or a transitive action.

Compare:

The first sentence focuses on swimming as an activity. The second describes movement towards a destination.

Another useful example is fahren:

In the second example, fahren takes an accusative object (das Auto), so it uses haben.

How to Form the Past Participle (Partizip II)

The second part of the Perfekt is the past participle, called Partizip II in German.

Its form depends on the type of verb.

1. Regular Verbs: ge- + Stem + -t

Regular (weak) verbs usually form their past participle with:

ge- + verb stem + -t

Regular Verbs Ending in -d or -t

Some verbs need an extra -e- before the final -t to make the participle easier to pronounce.

2. Irregular Verbs: Often ge- + Stem + -en

Many irregular (strong) verbs form their past participle with ge- and -en.

They often change their stem vowel as well.

These forms need to be learnt individually, since the stem changes aren't always predictable.

Mixed Verbs

Some verbs combine features of regular and irregular verbs.

They change their stem but still end in -t.

3. Separable Verbs: Prefix + ge- + Stem

With separable verbs, ge- is inserted between the separable prefix and the verb stem.

For example:

aufmachen becomes aufgemacht.

4. Inseparable Verbs: No ge-

Verbs with inseparable prefixes such as be-, emp-, ent-, er-, ge-, miss-, ver- and zer- do not add ge-.

5. Verbs Ending in -ieren: No ge-

Verbs ending in -ieren form their past participle with -t, without ge-.

Word Order in the German Perfekt

The Perfekt uses two verb forms, so their positions are particularly important.

Main Clauses

In a normal declarative main clause:

• The conjugated auxiliary verb takes position 2.
• The past participle goes at the end.

The auxiliary stays in second position even when the sentence begins with a time expression.

Yes/No Questions

In yes/no questions, the conjugated auxiliary comes first.

Questions with Question Words

When a question begins with wann, wo, warum or another question word, the auxiliary comes immediately after it.

Subordinate Clauses

In subordinate clauses introduced by words such as weil, dass, wenn or obwohl, the conjugated auxiliary normally moves to the end, after the past participle.

Compare:

• Main clause: Ich habe schlecht geschlafen.
• Subordinate clause: ..., weil ich schlecht geschlafen habe.

The same two verb forms appear, but their order changes.

Negation in the Perfekt

The Perfekt can be negated with nicht or kein, depending on what you're negating.

Negation with Nicht

Negation with Kein

Use kein to negate an indefinite noun phrase.

The placement of nicht depends on which part of the sentence is being negated. It doesn't simply go before the past participle in every sentence.

The Perfekt with Modal Verbs

Modal verbs such as können, müssen, wollen, dürfen, sollen and mögen can also appear in the Perfekt.

However, when a modal verb is used together with another infinitive, German normally uses a special construction called the Ersatzinfinitiv (substitute infinitive).

Instead of using the modal's past participle, the sentence ends with two infinitives.

The structure is:

haben + main verb infinitive + modal verb infinitive

The auxiliary is haben, even when the main verb would normally use sein.

Modal Verbs Used Alone

When a modal verb is used without another infinitive, it can take a regular past participle.

These forms are grammatical, but the Präteritum forms (wollte, konnte, musste, etc.) are often more natural in everyday German.

Word Order with Modal Verbs in Subordinate Clauses

The Ersatzinfinitiv also affects word order.

In a subordinate clause with two infinitives, the conjugated auxiliary normally comes before them rather than at the very end.

This is an important exception to the usual rule that the conjugated verb comes last in subordinate clauses.

Perfekt with Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs form the Perfekt with haben and keep their reflexive pronoun.

Notice that sich anziehen, sich treffen and sich freuen all use haben.

Perfekt with Passive Constructions

The Perfekt can also be used in the passive voice.

For the process passive (Vorgangspassiv), the structure is:

sein + past participle + worden

Notice that the passive uses worden, not geworden.

Compare:

The first uses werden to mean "become". The second uses werden to form the passive.

Perfekt vs. Präteritum: Which Past Tense Should You Use?

German has two major past tenses for talking about completed events:

• Perfekt, formed with haben/sein and a past participle.
• Präteritum, formed with a single conjugated past-tense verb.

Compare:

Both sentences describe the same past event.

The difference is mainly one of usage and register, rather than a strict difference in meaning.

Perfekt in Everyday Conversation

The Perfekt is particularly common when speaking about past events.

This is how many everyday conversations about the past are structured.

Präteritum in Written German

The Präteritum is particularly common in written narratives, literature and formal reporting.

For example:

In a novel, this would sound completely natural.

In everyday conversation, someone might instead say:

Some Verbs Commonly Use Präteritum in Speech

Even in spoken German, certain verbs are frequently used in the Präteritum.

This is particularly true of:

• sein - war
• haben - hatte
• werden - wurde
• Modal verbs such as können, müssen and wollen

Compare:

These Präteritum forms are very common in everyday speech.

You can also say Ich bin müde gewesen or Ich habe keine Zeit gehabt, but the shorter Präteritum forms are often more natural.

Perfekt vs. Plusquamperfekt

The Perfekt describes past events, while the Plusquamperfekt (past perfect) describes something that happened before another past event.

Compare:

The Plusquamperfekt uses the Präteritum forms of haben or sein:

• hatte gemacht
• war gegangen

It is useful when you need to make the order of past events explicit.

Common Mistakes with the German Perfekt

1. Using Haben Instead of Sein

Incorrect: Ich habe nach Berlin gefahren.

Correct:

Fahren uses sein when it describes travelling to a destination without an accusative object.

2. Putting the Past Participle in the Wrong Position

Incorrect: Ich habe gegessen gestern Pizza.

Correct:

In a main clause, the past participle normally goes at the end.

3. Adding Ge- to Every Past Participle

Incorrect: Ich habe getelefoniert.

Correct:

Verbs ending in -ieren don't add ge-.

4. Forgetting the Prefix of Separable Verbs

Incorrect: Ich bin gestanden auf.

Correct:

In the Perfekt, the separable prefix stays attached to the past participle.

5. Translating the English Present Perfect Too Literally

Incorrect: Ich habe hier seit zwei Jahren gewohnt. (if you still live here)

Correct:

German normally uses the present tense with seit when a situation began in the past and is still continuing.

If you no longer live there, you can use the Perfekt:

This is one of the most important differences between the German Perfekt and the English present perfect.

The End

The Perfekt is one of the most useful German tenses for talking about past experiences and events.

Its basic structure is straightforward: conjugate haben or sein and add the past participle. The main things to pay attention to are which auxiliary verb a verb requires, how its past participle is formed and where the two verb forms belong in the sentence.

Remember that the German Perfekt often corresponds to the English simple past, and that some common verbs, particularly sein, haben and the modal verbs, frequently use the Präteritum in everyday speech.

For more practice, explore our other German grammar explanations.