Simple past of sein and haben (A1) – German grammar

For the past of sein and haben, use war and hatte: Gestern war ich krank.

The simple past of sein (to be): war

Pronoun	Form	Ending	Meaning
ich	war	no ending	I was
du	warst	-st	you were (informal)
er / sie / es / man	war	no ending	he / she / it / one was
wir	waren	-en	we were
ihr	wart	-t	you all were (informal)
sie / Sie	waren	-en	they were / you were (polite)

The main points

For sein and haben, use war and hatte for the past.
war: ich war, du warst, er war, wir waren, ihr wart, sie waren.
hatte: ich hatte, du hattest, er hatte, wir hatten, ihr hattet, sie hatten.
ich and er/sie/es are always the same: ich war, er war.
war for states and places; hatte for symptoms and appointments.

Practise this · 5 questions

Part 1 of 4

When you use it

1
How you were: war + adjective
- Gestern war ich den ganzen Tag krank.Yesterday I was ill all day.
- Wir waren sehr besorgt.We were very worried.
Say how you felt or what something was like (→ A01).
2
Where you were: war + place
- Heute Morgen war ich beim Arzt.This morning I was at the doctor's.
- Wo warst du gestern um zehn Uhr?Where were you at ten o'clock yesterday?
Tell your boss, doctor or a friend where you were.
3
Symptoms: hatte + noun
- In der Nacht hatte ich hohes Fieber.In the night I had a high temperature.
- Frau Demir hatte gestern starke Kopfschmerzen.Ms Demir had a bad headache yesterday.
Like in the present (→ V03), you "have" a fever, a cough or pain.

The forms

The simple past of sein (to be): war

The stem is war-. Add the endings below.

Pronoun	Form	Ending	Meaning
ich	war	no ending	I was
du	warst	-st	you were (informal)
er / sie / es / man	war	no ending	he / she / it / one was
wir	waren	-en	we were
ihr	wart	-t	you all were (informal)
sie / Sie	waren	-en	they were / you were (polite)

What to notice

ich war = er war: no ending. wir and sie/Sie: waren. ihr wart has one t.

Part 2 of 4

Step by step

1
war and hatte are normal in speech
For most verbs, spoken German uses the Perfekt for the past (→ V07). For sein and haben, people usually say war and hatte.
- Ich war krank. Ich hatte Fieber.I was ill. I had a temperature.
Tip: Ich bin krank gewesen is also correct, but war is shorter.
2
war or hatte?
How or where you were → war. Symptoms, appointments, things you had → hatte.
- Ich war im Bett.I was in bed.
- Ich hatte Bauchschmerzen.I had stomach ache.
3
Choose the form
Look at the subject. ich and er/sie/es always have the same form.
- ich war, du warst, er war, wir waren, ihr wart, sie waren
- ich hatte, du hattest, er hatte, wir hatten, ihr hattet, sie hatten
4
Add a time word
A time word shows when it happened.
- gestern, gestern Abend, vorgestern, letzte Wocheyesterday, yesterday evening, the day before yesterday, last week
5
Put the verb in position 2
In a statement, war or hatte is in position 2 (→ S01). In a yes/no question, it comes first.
- Gestern war ich beim Arzt.Yesterday I was at the doctor's.
- Waren Sie gestern in der Praxis?Were you at the surgery yesterday?

Part 3 of 4

Common mistakes

~~Gestern ich war krank im Bett.~~
Gestern war ich krank im Bett.
gestern is position 1, so war comes next, then ich (→ S01).
~~Gestern bin ich krank.~~
Gestern war ich krank.
gestern is in the past, so use war, not bin.
~~Er wart gestern beim Arzt.~~
Er war gestern beim Arzt.
er war has no ending. wart is only for ihr.

Exceptions

Tap one to open it.

In this past form, er/sie/es never adds an ending. It is the same as ich.
- ich war = er war (not er wart)
- ich hatte = er hatte (not er hattet)
ihr wart is the past of sein. Don't confuse it with Warte! (wait!, → V06) or wahr (true).
- Ihr wart krank.You were ill. (to several people)
- Das ist wahr.That is true.
hatte (with a) is a real past fact. hätte (with ä) means "would have". You will learn it later.
- Ich hatte einen Termin.I had an appointment. (fact)
- Ich hätte gern …I would like … (not a past fact)
In speech you hear Die Praxis hatte zu or Die Praxis war zu. In writing, use war geschlossen.
- Die Praxis hatte zu.The surgery was closed. (spoken)
- Die Praxis war geschlossen.The surgery was closed.

Don't mix it up

war, hatte, wart and hätte

These forms look alike, or English leads you to the wrong one. Check the meaning.

Form	Meaning and use	Example	Why learners mix it up
ich war	I was (state, place)	Ich war müde.	Not for symptoms: not Ich war Fieber.
ich hatte	I had (thing, symptom, appointment)	Ich hatte Fieber.	English "I was having" is simply hatte.
ihr wart	you all were (past of sein)	Ihr wart gestern da.	Not Warte! (wait!) or wahr (true).
er hatte	he had (past fact)	Er hatte gestern Zeit.	Not hätte (would have).
er ist vs. er war	now vs. past	Er ist krank (now) vs. Er war krank (past)	With gestern, change to war.

Part 4 of 4

In real life

Calling in sick

Ms Demir calls her boss, Mr Schmidt. She can't come to work today because she got ill yesterday. · Tap EN for English.

Chef
Firma Schmidt, guten Tag!
Frau Demir
Hier ist Leyla Demir. Ich kann heute leider nicht kommen. Gestern war ich schon krank.
Chef
Oh, das tut mir leid. Was fehlt Ihnen denn?
Frau Demir
Gestern Abend hatte ich plötzlich hohes Fieber und starke Kopfschmerzen.
Chef
Waren Sie denn schon beim Arzt?
Frau Demir
Ja, heute Morgen war ich bei der Ärztin. Sie hatte zum Glück sofort Zeit.
Chef
Bleiben Sie im Bett und ruhen Sie sich aus. Gute Besserung!
Frau Demir
Vielen Dank, Herr Schmidt!

That's the whole topic.

Next topicSimple past of modal verbs

The simple past of sein (to be): war

The main points

When you use it

How you were: war + adjective

Where you were: war + place

Symptoms: hatte + noun

The forms

The simple past of sein (to be): war

Step by step

war and hatte are normal in speech

war or hatte?

Choose the form

Add a time word

Put the verb in position 2

Common mistakes

Exceptions

Don't mix it up

war, hatte, wart and hätte

In real life

Sources