The Imperfect Tense
1. The imperfect tense is used much more in written than in spoken german.
2. When writing German, use the Imperfect to translate the forms given in the examples given below:-
| He made | Er machte | (weak verb) |
| He was making |
| He wrote | Er schrieb | (strong verb) |
| He was writting |
3. Formation of the Imperfect with Weak Verbs.
E.g i) MACHEN
Find the stem of the verb (MACHen)
Then use the following endings:-
| Ich machTE | Ihr machTET |
| Du machTEST | Sie machTEN |
| Er/sie/Es machTE | sie machTEN |
| Wir machTEN |
E.g ii) ARBEITEN (Stem ends in 'T')
| Ich arbeitETE | Ihr arbeitETET |
| Du arbeitETEST | Sie arbeitETEN |
| Er/sie/Es arbeitETE | sie arbietETEN |
| Wir arbeitETEN |
4. Formation of the Imperfect with Strong Verbs.
The imperfect of Strong Verbs involves a change in the stem of the verb.
Example:
| Er schwimmt | He swims |
| Er schwamm | He swam (He was swimming) |
Therefore the Imperfect forms of Strong Verbs must be learned. (They are not always so similiar to the English).
You are given the ER/SIE/ES part of the verb (= 3rd person singular)
Example:
| Infinitive | Schwimmen |
| Imperfect | Schwamm |
= ER/SIE/ES schwamm
Once you know this, it is easy to use the following endings when necessary:-
| Ich schwamm | Er/sie/Es schwamm | Wir schwammEN | Sie schwammEN |
| Du schwammST | Wir schwammEN | Ihr schwammT | sie schwammEN |
N.B The first person singular (=ICH)
The third person singular (=ER/SIE/ES) are always the same