war, hatte, konnte: the past tense people do say out loud
CEFR A2 · part 2
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
weil and dass: the clause where the verb goes to the endJoining two clauses with weil, dass, wenn or ob and sending the conjugated verb to the…in, auf, an…: the nine that take two cases depending on wo or wohinChoosing the case with a single question: if the sentence answers wohin —where to, there…The adjective in front of the noun: when -e and when -enGiving the adjective an ending when it sits in front of the noun, with the short rule…The imperative and German's three «you»: du, ihr, SieGiving an instruction to the three people German lets you address, and knowing which is…Comparing in German: -er, als, and am -stenComparing two things and pointing out the top one, with German's three pieces: the -er…mich or mir, dich or dir: pronouns in the accusative and dativeReplacing anything already mentioned with a pronoun, in both cases, and placing it…The rule, in three lines
Spoken German uses the Perfekt for nearly everything, but eight verbs are NEVER said that way: sein, haben and the six modals. With them you use the Präteritum, which is one single form: war, hatte, konnte, musste, wollte, durfte, sollte, mochte. Ich war müde, not Ich bin müde gewesen. And watch the conjugation: first and third person singular are identical and take no ending, ich war and er war.
The usual slip. Saying Ich bin müde gewesen or Ich habe Zeit gehabt when speaking. They are not wrong —they exist— but they sound odd, like saying «I have been hungry» where everyone says «I was hungry». And the opposite mistake exists too: using the Präteritum with ordinary verbs, Ich spielte gestern, which sounds like a novel rather than a conversation.
Why it catches you out. English says «I was» and «I had» without thinking, so these eight are the easiest part of the German past for you. The trap is the other direction: because «I played» feels just as natural, you will want to say ich spielte, and that really does sound like written narrative. Keep the simple past for these eight and use the Perfekt for the rest.