A1-49 · Describe how things were
Yesterday
Use war and hatte to describe past situations, feelings and possessions.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
Use war for a past state
War is the past form of sein for ich and er, sie or es. Du takes warst. Use it to say where someone was or how they felt.
Ich war gestern zu Hause.
I was at home yesterday.
Mara war müde.
Mara was tired.
Du warst im Büro.
You were in the office.
Gestern war es kalt.
It was cold yesterday.
Gestern means yesterday and letzte Woche last week. These past forms are common in everyday speech.
02
Use hatte for what you had
Hatte is the past form of haben with ich and er, sie or es. Du takes hattest. Use it for possessions or situations: Ich hatte Zeit.
Ich hatte keine Zeit.
I had no time.
Ben hatte ein Fahrrad.
Ben had a bicycle.
Du hattest Hunger.
You were hungry.
Mara hatte Angst.
Mara was afraid.
Hunger haben means be hungry and Angst haben be afraid. In the past, use hatte with these expressions too.
03
Talk about a group
Wir and sie use waren or hatten; ihr uses wart or hattet. Früher means formerly or in the past. A time phrase can come first, followed immediately by the verb.
Wir waren letzte Woche in Berlin.
We were in Berlin last week.
Ihr wart gestern hier.
You all were here yesterday.
Wir hatten Hunger.
We were hungry.
Früher hattet ihr einen Hund.
You all used to have a dog.
Compare Wir waren müde with Wir hatten Hunger. The first uses an adjective; the second uses the expression Hunger haben.
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