Literary Preterite in First Person

In English, we usually just add "-ed" to a verb to make it past tense (I walked, I played). German is a bit more structured. When you use the first person ich, the verb changes its shape to signal that the action is finished. For most verbs, this involves adding a specific ending. For others, the whole middle of the word might jump around. The goal is to create a single word that says "I did this" without needing a helper verb like habe or bin. It’s efficient, elegant, and very common in books. Even at the A1 level, knowing how to say ich machte (I made) or ich kam (I came) makes your writing sound much more natural to a native speaker's ear.

1. 1Building the ich form in the literary past follows two main paths.
2. 2Regular (Weak) Verbs: These are the easy ones. You take the verb stem and add -te.
3. 3Take machen (to do/make).
4. 4Remove the -en to get the stem: mach-.
5. 5Add -te: ich machte.
6. 6Now you’re a writer! Ich machte ein Foto (I took a photo).
7. 7Irregular (Strong) Verbs: These are the rebels. They change their stem vowel and usually have no ending for the ich form.
8. 8Take gehen (to go).
9. 9The stem vowel changes from e to i: ging.
10. 10Do not add a -te! It stays ich ging.
11. 11Ich ging nach Hause (I went home).
12. 12The "Big Two" Exceptions: Even in spoken German, we use the Präteritum for sein (to be) and haben (to have).
13. 13sein becomes ich war (I was).
14. 14haben becomes ich hatte (I had).

Use the ich form of the Präteritum when you are the protagonist of a written story.

• Writing a Journal: "Today I visited the museum." -> Ich besuchte heute das Museum.
• Formal Emails: When describing a past action to a boss. "I spoke with the client." -> Ich sprach mit dem Kunden.
• Social Media Captions: If you want to sound a bit more "aesthetic" or narrative on your travel posts.
• Job Interviews: Sometimes used when recounting your professional history to sound more precise.
• Novels and Literature: If you ever write your memoirs in German, this is your go-to tense!

Avoid using this in casual conversation. If you are at a café and tell your friend Ich kaufte ein Brot (I bought a bread), they might look at you like you’ve just stepped out of a 19th-century poem. It’s not "wrong," but it sounds very stiff. In speech, stick to Ich habe ein Brot gekauft. Think of the Präteritum like a grammar traffic light:

• Red Light: Casual chats with friends, ordering food, texting "on my way."
• Green Light: Writing an essay, a formal letter, or a long-form blog post.

1. 1Over-adding endings: Many learners try to add an -e or -te to strong verbs. They say ich ginge instead of ich ging. Be careful! ich ginge actually means "I would go" (a different grammar point entirely).
2. 2Mixing tenses: Don't start a story in Präteritum and switch to Perfekt in the next sentence. Consistency is key to looking like a pro.
3. 3Using it for everything: Yes, you learned it, and yes, it's cool, but don't use it to ask where the bathroom is. You'll sound like a time traveler.
4. 4Forgetting vowel changes: Strong verbs are tricky. ich trinkte is a classic mistake. It should be ich trank (I drank).

Let's compare ich machte (Präteritum) with ich habe gemacht (Perfekt).

• Präteritum: One word. Used for writing. Feels distant and narrative.
• Perfekt: Two words (helper + participle). Used for speaking. Feels immediate and personal.

Think of it like this: Präteritum is for the history books; Perfekt is for the news happening right now. However, remember the "Spoken Exceptions": ich war, ich hatte, and modal verbs like ich wollte (I wanted) are used in both speaking and writing because they are shorter and easier than their Perfekt versions.