B1-1 · A biography in the Präteritum
Life stories
Follow a short life story, recognise irregular past-tense forms and write a clear sequence of events.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
A life in a few sentences
Written biographies often use the Präteritum. Read this short portrait of Nora. Follow the events and notice how common verbs change their stem.
Nora wuchs in einer kleinen Stadt auf.
Nora grew up in a small town.
Mit achtzehn zog sie nach Hamburg und begann eine Ausbildung.
At eighteen, she moved to Hamburg and started vocational training.
Dort fand sie eine Stelle in einer Buchhandlung.
There, she found a job in a bookshop.
Später schrieb sie ihr erstes Kinderbuch.
Later, she wrote her first children's book.
These are simple past forms: wuchs auf, zog, begann, fand, schrieb. They place the events in the past without a helper such as hat or ist.
02
Recognise irregular stems
Many frequent Präteritum forms change the vowel. Learn each infinitive with its past form. Ich and er/sie/es share the same form for the verbs in this table.
| Meaning | Infinitive | ich / er / sie |
|---|---|---|
| to go | gehen | ging |
| to come | kommen | kam |
| to find | finden | fand |
| to take | nehmen | nahm |
| to begin | beginnen | begann |
| to write | schreiben | schrieb |
| to stay | bleiben | blieb |
Ich fand eine neue Stelle.
I found a new job.
Sie fand eine neue Stelle.
She found a new job.
Wir fanden eine neue Stelle.
We found a new job.
Ihr fandet eine neue Stelle.
You all found a new job.
For finden: ich fand, du fandest, er fand, wir fanden, ihr fandet, sie/Sie fanden. The extra e in fandest and fandet makes the ending easier to pronounce. Do not add -te to these irregular stems.
03
Keep the verb in its place
A time phrase can start the sentence, but the finite verb still takes second position. With a separable verb such as aufwachsen, the prefix moves to the end of the main clause.
Nora wuchs in einer kleinen Stadt auf.
Nora grew up in a small town.
Später nahm sie an einem Schreibkurs teil.
Later, she took part in a writing course.
Im Kurs lernte sie andere Autorinnen kennen.
In the course, she got to know other women writers.
Nach dem Kurs schrieb sie jeden Morgen.
After the course, she wrote every morning.
Aufwachsen → wuchs … auf. Teilnehmen → nahm … teil. Kennenlernen → lernte … kennen is regular here. In Später nahm sie … teil, später fills the first position, so nahm comes before sie.
04
Written and spoken accounts
The Präteritum is common in written narratives; the Perfekt is common in everyday conversation. Both versions below describe the same past event. Usage varies by region and verb, so this is a tendency, not an absolute rule.
Nora fand eine Stelle in einer Buchhandlung.
Nora found a job in a bookshop.
Nora hat eine Stelle in einer Buchhandlung gefunden.
Nora found a job in a bookshop.
Sie blieb drei Jahre in Hamburg.
She stayed in Hamburg for three years.
Sie ist drei Jahre in Hamburg geblieben.
She stayed in Hamburg for three years.
Write a short biography with three events: where someone grew up, what they began and what they did later. Use clear past forms such as wuchs auf, begann and schrieb. Keep one narrative style where it fits.
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Check what you remember with 12 short questions.
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