hatte

Hat­te is the simple past (Präteritum) form of the German verb haben, meaning “to have.” It is the past-tense form for ich hatte, du hattest, er/sie/es hatte, wir hatten, ihr hattet, and sie hatten. This form is used especially in written narration and in certain spoken registers to describe past possession, states, or experiences.

In standard German, the Präteritum of haben is common in writing but less frequent in everyday speech, where the Perfekt (ich habe gehabt) is often preferred for past events. Hat­te can express various past meanings, such as possession (“Ich hatte ein Auto”), a feeling or situation in the past (“Er hatte Hunger”) or a completed past action in narrative context.

Grammatically, hat­te also serves as the auxiliary verb in the plusquamperfekt (past perfect) when combined with a past participle to indicate a previous past event. Examples include: “Bevor er ankam, hatte er schon gegessen” (Before he arrived, he had already eaten). The form is restricted to indicative mood; the subjunctive Konjunktiv II is hat­te with a different modal form, namely hätte, for hypothetical situations.

Etymology and cognates: haben originates from the Germanic verb common to the West Germanic languages, with cognates such as English have, Dutch hebben, and Swedish ha. The Präteritum ending -te in hat­te is part of the traditional weak-verb past-tense pattern in German, adapted to the irregular verb haben. In sum, hat­te is a key past-tense form essential for telling about past ownership or experiences in German.