Which verbs take haben and which take sein in the past tense?

All verbs which indicate movement (or lack thereof) require sein. Everything else requires haben. For example, 'ich bin gegangen,' and 'ich bin geblieben' both refer to movement/lack of movement, which is why they take sein. 'Essen,' for example, does not make any reference to position or movement, which is why we say 'ich habe gegessen'.

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Answered by Chris D. German tutor

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Read this article written by Klaus for the school magazine: "Ich esse, was ich will, und ich bin noch nie krank gewesen. Am wichtigsten finde ich es, viel Sport zu treiben. Ich habe Schulfreunde, die ab und zu Drogen probiert haben. Das wuerde ich nie tun


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