Perfekt

Perfekt, or the present perfect, is a past tense used in German grammar to express actions that were completed in the past and often have relevance to the present. It is the default past tense in everyday spoken German and in informal writing, while other tenses are used in more formal writing.

Formation and structure: The Perfekt consists of an auxiliary verb—haben or sein—in the present tense plus the past participle of the main verb. Most verbs take haben; a smaller group uses sein, typically those indicating motion or a change of state (for example, gehen, kommen, bleiben, einschlafen). The past participle is usually formed with ge- and a suffix such as -t or -en for regular verbs (machen → gemacht). With separable-prefix verbs, the prefix remains attached to the participle (aufstehen → er ist aufgestanden; ausgegeben → hat ausgegeben). With inseparable prefixes (ver-, be-, ent-, etc.), the prefix stays attached and the ge- prefix is not used (verstehen → verstanden).

Usage: Perfekt is used to describe past events in everyday speech and in many types of informal writing. Präteritum, or simple past, is more common in formal writing and narrative prose. Regional variation exists: speakers in the south and in Austria often prefer Perfekt in conversation, while northern varieties may favor Präteritum in similar contexts.

Examples: Ich habe das Buch gelesen. Er ist gestern nach Hause gegangen. Wir haben lange darüber gesprochen. With a modal verb: Ich habe es tun können.

Notes: The auxiliary forms are ich habe, du hast, er hat, wir haben, ihr habt, sie/Sie haben; er ist, ihr seid, sie/Sie sind for sein. The past participles include gewesen (for sein), gehabt (for haben), gelesen (lesen), gegangen (gehen).