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German grammar Part of Chapter 2

CEFR A1

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Test yourself (19 questions)

War and Hatte: How to Say Was and Had in German

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 11 October 2026

Was is and had is : the simple past of and . Germans say them every day, even when they tell everything else in the perfect.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

War or hatte? Pick the verb that fits.

  1. Ich gestern müde.

  2. Ich keine Zeit.

  3. Das gut.

  • . - I was tired.
  • . - I had no time.

The whole system on one screen

the person endingWhat do the colours mean?
Personsein: washaben: had
, ,
,

Two forms to learn, and , and endings you already know from the present: -st, -t and -en, which shrinks to -n after the final e of .

Ich and er: the same word

In the past, the and forms are identical, with no ending at all:

  • . - I was at home.
  • . - He was at home.
  • . - I was lucky.
  • . - She was lucky.

So and are wrong: the endings belong to the other persons.

ich war, du warst, wir waren

War: was and were

covers was for people, things and situations:

GermanEnglish
.That was good.
.It was cold.
?How was your day?
.We were at the cinema.
?Where were you?
Four faces: a girl grinning with sparkles and a heart (happy); a yawning boy with heavy eyelids under a moon (tired); a girl with a cold compress, a thermometer and a scarf (ill); a curly-haired boy frowning with steam puffing from his head (angry).
  1. .
  2. .
  3. .
  4. .

One past form for a state: war. She was happy, he was tired, she was ill, he was angry.

Hatte: had, and sometimes was

is had. It also covers four places where English says was, because German has , thirst, fear and luck:

GermanEnglish
.He had no money.
.I was hungry.
.He was thirsty.
?Were you afraid?
.We were lucky.
  • hunger, so hungryhunger, so hungry
  • thirst, so thirstythirst, so thirsty
  • fear, so afraidfear, so afraid
  • luck, so luckyluck, so lucky

The present works the same way: . - I am hungry.

She, they or you: sie and Sie

Three meanings share one spelling, and the verb sorts two of them out:

GermanEnglishWhy
.She was ill.war: one person
.They were ill.: plural
?Were you ill?polite you, plural verb

At the start of a sentence, can be they or polite you. Context decides, exactly as in the present.

Questions and word order

and follow the normal rule: the verb is the second element, or first in a yes or no question.

the verbWhat do the colours mean?
Position 1
Verb
The rest
empty
?
  • . - Yesterday I was tired.
  • ? - Were you tired yesterday?

More on the verb-second rule in German word order.

Why not the perfect?

German talks about the past mostly in the perfect tense: . - I drank coffee. But for and the perfect is long, and most speakers do not bother:

UsualPossibleEnglish
. .I was tired.
. .I had time.

The long forms are correct, and common in the south, Austria and Switzerland. and are never wrong anywhere.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
. . has no ending
. .er has no ending
. .plural adds -en
. .the verb is second

What to do next

  1. Say three true sentences about yesterday with and .
  2. Ask someone ?
  3. When the rest of the past calls, read the German simple past for , and .

Practise: test yourself

Pick the right one

0/5

War or hatte? Pick the verb that fits.

  1. Ich gestern müde.

  2. Ich keine Zeit.

  3. Das gut.

  4. Er Hunger.

  5. Er nicht zu Hause.

Build the word

0/4

Build the form: the past stem, then the person ending.

  1. du + sein (you were)

    Umlauts count - ae, oe, ue and ss work for ä, ö, ü, ß

    Your word is empty.

  2. wir + haben (we had)

    Umlauts count - ae, oe, ue and ss work for ä, ö, ü, ß

    Your word is empty.

  3. ihr + sein (you all were)

    Umlauts count - ae, oe, ue and ss work for ä, ö, ü, ß

    Your word is empty.

  4. du + haben (you had)

    Umlauts count - ae, oe, ue and ss work for ä, ö, ü, ß

    Your word is empty.

Complete the story

0/4

Choose the form for each gap.

A bad day

Gestern ich sehr müde. Ich keine Zeit und viel Arbeit. du auch müde? Nein, wir einen guten Tag.

Gap 1 of 4

Spot the mistake

0/3

Each sentence has one wrong verb form. Tap it.

Put the words in order

0/3

Put the words in order. The verb is the second element.

  1. Start with Gestern: Yesterday I was tired.

    Your sentence is empty.

  2. Start with Wo: Where were you?

    Your sentence is empty.

  3. Start with Heute: Today we had no time.

    Your sentence is empty.

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Practice worksheets and infographics

Practice worksheets with answer keys built in, plus infographic and listicle formats. Open any one to view, print or save.

Infographics

  1. Key points infographic
  2. The whole system on one screen
  3. War: was and were
  4. Hatte: had, and sometimes was
  5. She, they or you: sie and Sie
  6. Why not the perfect?
  7. Mistakes English speakers make

Other formats

  1. Listicle

More grammar on this course

Frequently asked questions

How do you say was in German?
, the simple past of . is I was tired, is that was good. The plural were is : , we were at home.
What is the past tense of ?
for and , for , for , and , and for . is I had no time. The perfect, , exists but sounds heavy in most of Germany.
Why is it and not ?
Both are correct. In most of Germany is simply what people say, even in casual speech where every other verb goes into the perfect. is common in the south, Austria and Switzerland, so you will hear it, but is never wrong.
Why does German say for was hungry?
Because German has rather than being hungry: is I am hungry, so the past is . The same goes for (thirst), (fear) and (luck): , we were lucky.
Is it or ?
Both, with different meanings. is they were and is you were, to someone you call . At the start of a sentence the capital hides the difference, so context decides: can be either. (she was) is the only form without -en.