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When do I use "sein" and when do I use "haben" in the past tense

"Sein" means literally "to be". "Haben" means "to have". When using the past tense, where there is motion you use "sein" with the appropriate pronoun and the...
SR
Answered by Sebastian R. • German tutor
2281 Views

How do I say ‘I went to Switzerland’?

In German, there are lots of different ways to say ‘to’: ‘nach’, ‘zu’, ‘in’ etc. Unfortunately, you do just have to learn when to use each one by memorising the rules. Learning individual examples also helps...
MC
5805 Views

How would you form the perfect tense?

You need to use the conjugation form of haben or sein (if it involves movement or a change of state , e.g. freezing or falling asleep). Haben :ich habe du hast wir haben ihr habt sie/Sie haben Sein :ich bin ...
AN
Answered by Alex N. • German tutor
2050 Views

How is the perfect tense formed in German?

To form the perfect tense in German you use an auxiliary verb, either 'haben' or 'sein', plus the past participle of the main verb in the sentence. Most verbs take 'haben' when used in the perfect tense, but...
TP
Answered by Toby P. • German tutor
2677 Views

Translate the following sentence into German: "I have been playing the piano for five years."

Answer: "Ich spiele seit fünf Jahren das Klavier". A common mistake made by students of German would be to say: "Ich habe seit fünf Jahren das Klavier gespielt". This is because the conce...
EB
Answered by Edward B. • German tutor
3052 Views