German · B1 · Everyday language
Before That Happened in German
Help your child explain what had already happened before another past event. German uses the Plusquamperfekt (past perfect) to make this earlier part of a story clear.
What you'll learn
- Describe an event completed before another past event.
- Build the Plusquamperfekt with hatte or war plus a past participle.
- Use familiar rules to choose between haben and sein.
- Place verbs correctly in clauses with weil, als and bevor.
German phrases for before that happened
Du hattest Hunger, weil du deine Brotdose zu Hause gelassen hattest.
You were hungry because you had left your lunchbox at home.
Leaving the lunchbox happened first. Hattest Hunger is simple past; gelassen hattest is past perfect.
Wir gingen zurück, weil ich deine Sporttasche vergessen hatte.
We went back because I had forgotten your sports bag.
Vergessen uses haben, so its past perfect is hatte vergessen. After weil, hatte comes last.
Dein Freund war schon angekommen, als wir von der Schule nach Hause kamen.
Your friend had already arrived when we got home from school.
Ankommen uses sein: ist angekommen becomes war angekommen. For a female friend, use deine Freundin.
Du hast die Geschichte wiedererkannt, weil wir sie zusammen gelesen hatten.
You recognised the story because we had read it together.
The later event can also be in the Perfekt, which is common in conversation. Gelesen hatten still marks the earlier event.
Du konntest den Comic kaufen, weil du genug Taschengeld gespart hattest.
You could buy the comic because you had saved enough pocket money.
Gespart hattest shows that the saving was already complete when buying the comic became possible.
Als ich am Schultor ankam, war deine Klasse schon hineingegangen.
By the time I reached the school gate, your class had already gone inside.
Als together with schon and the past perfect conveys 'by the time'. Klasse is singular, so use war.
Dein Zahn war ausgefallen, bevor wir beim Zahnarzt ankamen.
Your tooth had fallen out before we arrived at the dentist's.
Ausfallen uses sein when describing a tooth falling out. Bevor introduces the later event.
Du fandest das Arbeitsblatt, das du unter dein Lesebuch gelegt hattest.
You found the worksheet that you had put under your reading book.
Das introduces a relative clause referring to das Arbeitsblatt. The auxiliary hattest goes at the end.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
die Brotdose
lunchbox
A common word for a child's food box for school.
die Sporttasche
sports bag
Use deine Sporttasche for 'your sports bag' when speaking to your child.
wiedererkennen
to recognise
The past participle is wiedererkannt: recognising something you have encountered before.
das Taschengeld
pocket money
Genug Taschengeld means 'enough pocket money'.
das Schultor
school gate
Am Schultor means 'at the school gate'; am combines an and dem.
hineingehen
to go inside
The past participle is hineingegangen, used with sein.
ausfallen
to fall out
For a tooth: Der Zahn ist ausgefallen. The past perfect is Der Zahn war ausgefallen.
das Arbeitsblatt
worksheet
The plural is die Arbeitsblätter.
das Lesebuch
reading book
Usually a school book containing texts for reading practice.
Build the past perfect
Use the simple past of haben or sein plus the same past participle you already use in the Perfekt. The choice of auxiliary stays the same.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| With haben | hatte / hattest / hatten / hattet + Partizip II | Ich hatte deine Sporttasche vergessen. |
| With sein | war / warst / waren / wart + Partizip II | Dein Freund war schon angekommen. |
| Keep the participle | hast gelesen → hattest gelesen; bist angekommen → warst angekommen | Wir hatten die Geschichte zusammen gelesen. |
Show which event happened first
Use the Plusquamperfekt for the earlier completed event. The later event is usually in the Präteritum in written stories or the Perfekt in everyday conversation. Sentence order does not determine event order.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Earlier event | Plusquamperfekt | Du hattest genug Taschengeld gespart. |
| Later event | Präteritum | Du konntest den Comic kaufen. |
| Connect the events | later event + weil + earlier event | Du konntest den Comic kaufen, weil du genug Taschengeld gespart hattest. |
Put the auxiliary in the right place
In a statement, the auxiliary is in second position and the participle comes at the end. In subordinate clauses, the participle comes just before the final auxiliary. If a subordinate clause comes first, the main clause starts with its finite verb.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Main clause | subject + auxiliary + … + participle | Dein Freund war schon angekommen. |
| Weil clause | weil + subject + … + participle + auxiliary | weil du deine Brotdose zu Hause gelassen hattest |
| Relative clause | relative pronoun + subject + … + participle + auxiliary | das du unter dein Lesebuch gelegt hattest |
| Time clause first | Als …, + auxiliary + subject + … + participle | Als ich am Schultor ankam, war deine Klasse schon hineingegangen. |
More examples
Wir hatten die Geschichte zusammen gelesen.
We had read the story together.
A short way to practise the earlier event on its own.
Dein Zahn war ausgefallen, bevor wir beim Zahnarzt ankamen.
Your tooth had fallen out before we arrived at the dentist's.
Ask your child which happened first: the tooth fell out, then you arrived.
Du fandest das Arbeitsblatt, das du unter dein Lesebuch gelegt hattest.
You found the worksheet that you had put under your reading book.
Unter dein Lesebuch uses the accusative because legen describes putting something into a position.