German Grammar * Review & Exercises

PRESENT PERFECT

Present Perfect (generally referred to as "perfect", or also conversational past) is used

• to describe single, completed actions (especially when the context specifies the time when they occurred).
• in spoken language (when written German would use simple past)

It requires two parts: an auxiliary (either HABEN or SEIN--review their present tense conjugation) and a participle:

• Wir haben die Aufgabe gemacht.
• Sie ist nach Hause gefahren.

A. The Participle: Formation

1. Most participles have a ge- prefix and end in either -en or -t:
   
   • Weak (and mixed verbs) end in -t (gehört, getanzt, gedacht, geraucht, ...),
   • Strong (and irrgular) verbs end in -en (geschwommen, gesprochen, gelegen, gesessen, ...).
   Therefore: if you do not know a participle you encounter, and it ends in -en, at least you know it must be a strong (or irregular) verb. This is an important clue that can help you to identify the infinitive because now you know that the stem is likely to use another vowel (e.g. gesprungen ==> springen).
2. Separable prefix verbs: the ge is inserted between the prefix and the stem:
   = anrufen ==> Ich habe sie angerufen.
3. Inseparable prefix verbs: NO ge!
   = erzählen ==> Martin hat eine gute Geschichte erzählt.
4. The same--NO ge--holds true for verbs ending in -ieren:
   = studieren ==> Ich habe Germanistik studiert.

   Examples for verbs in this group:
   dirigieren (to direct, conduct), emanzipieren (to emancipate), informieren (to inform), manipulieren (to manipulate), passieren (to happen, occur), reagieren (to react), regieren (to govern), reparieren (to fix, repair) ...

   These verbs are weak, i.e. they add -t for the participle, and they go with HABEN (--except for "passieren"--see below).
   EXCEPTION: frieren ==> gefroren (uses ge-, and is strong).

RECAP
Take the "perfect tense stem": bleiben ==> blieb__

• add a GE- prefix
• -GE- inserted after separable prefixes
• NO GE- with INSEPARABLE prefixes and verbs that end in -IEREN
• add a -T suffix if the verb is weak [no vowel change]
• add an -EN suffix if the verb is strong [vowel change]

B. The Auxiliary: SEIN vs. HABEN

• Most verbs use haben,
• some use sein (always--a list follows below),
• the "problem" are those few that can take either.

It might be easiest to go about it this way:

1. Consider haben your default auxiliary (unless the verb in question is one of the few that always takes sein, of course).
2. Check whether the verb in question involves motion toward a goal (the action has a destination), and/or a change in condition. This criterion limits the selection quickly since there are not all that many verbs in this group.
   • if neither is the case: use haben (you are done).
   • if the above is the case, go to the next step.
3. Look for a direct object (accusative case) of this verb.
   • if there is a direct object: stick with haben
   • if there is NO direct object: use sein.
   This step can only be done if there is a complete sentence, if there is context. If only the verb is available it has to suffice to assume that it could take sein!

Notes

1. Both criteria--change in place or condition (Step 1) and NO direct object [this is called intransitivity] (Step 2)--have to be met.
2. Concerning the direct object/accusative: prepositional objects do not qualify! (Those that are accusative because of the preposition, e.g. durch, für, gegen, ohne, um, or any others).
3. There are not many verbs/situations where this occurs. This is why haben can be considered the default.
4. The choice of the suffix (-t or -en) for the participle has nothing to do with the choice of haben or sein (and vice versa, obviously).

VERBS ALWAYS TAKING SEIN
Some often-used verbs that always use SEIN as auxiliary:

werden (to become), sein (to be), passieren (to happen), geschehen (to happen, occur), bleiben (to stay, remain)

BEISPIELE

1. Ich fahre nach Cleveland. = Ich bin nach Cleveland gefahren.
   - "fahren" involves motion toward a goal, plus there is no DIRECT OBJECT: ==> "sein"
   ["nach Cleveland" is a prepositional object and does not count, like all prepositional objects]
2. Ich heirate morgen. = Ich habe geheiratet.
   - "heiraten" does not involve motion toward or a change in condition: ==> "haben"
3. Sie reitet ihr Pferd. = Sie hat ihr Pferd geritten.
   - "reiten" involves motion, and there is a DIRECT OBJECT: "ihr Pferd": ==> "haben"
   [As opposed to: Sie reitet. = Sie ist geritten.
   There is NO direct object! Likewise for the first example: Ich fahre den Bus nach Cleveland. = Ich habe den Bus nach Cleveland gefahren. DIRECT OBJECT: "den Bus"!]

ÜBUNGEN

Additional Exercise (Designed to open in separate window).

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