When do I use "sein" in the perfect tense?

In German the perfect tense is formed with haben/sein + past participle. The majority of verbs use haben in the perfect tense (such as Ich habe gespielt – I played). Transitive verbs (verbs that take an accusative) and reflexive verbs, for example, take haben.Generally, verbs that concern a change of place or state (such as gehen, kommen, laufen, wachsen, sterben) take sein while other verbs take haben.So you would say:Ich bin gelaufen. Du bist gefahren. Er ist gekommen. Sie ist gewachsen. Wir sind gegangen. Sie sind gestorben.

NM
Answered by Nina M. German tutor

5231 Views

See similar German GCSE tutors

Related German GCSE answers

All answers ▸

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


When do I use the present perfect, simple past and past perfect?


How do you form the "Perfekt"?


How do I know which case to use?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning