German · B1 · Everyday language
Teddy's Evening Adventure in German
Tell a gentle bedtime story about a little bear who helps a baby's dad. Practise six common verbs in the Präteritum, the simple past tense often used in written stories and fairy tales.
What you'll learn
- Understand and use ging, kam, sah, fand, gab and nahm in a short story.
- Recognise singular past-tense forms with der Bär, der Papa and er.
- Use simple time expressions to guide a listener through a story.
German phrases for teddy's evening adventure
Der kleine Bär ging in den Garten.
The little bear went into the garden.
Ging is the Präteritum of gehen. In den Garten describes movement into the garden.
Dann kam ein kleines Kaninchen zum Zaun.
Then a small rabbit came to the fence.
Kam is the Präteritum of kommen. After Dann, the verb comes before the subject.
Der Bär sah ein Baby in einem Kinderwagen.
The bear saw a baby in a pram.
Sah is the Präteritum of sehen. In einem Kinderwagen tells us where the baby was.
Unter dem Kinderwagen fand er eine weiche Decke.
Under the pram, he found a soft blanket.
Fand is the Präteritum of finden. The opening location phrase is followed by the verb and then er.
Er gab die Decke dem Papa des Babys.
He gave the blanket to the baby's dad.
Gab is the Präteritum of geben. Dem Papa identifies the recipient; des Babys means 'of the baby'.
Der Papa nahm die Decke und lächelte.
Dad took the blanket and smiled.
Nahm is the Präteritum of nehmen. Lächelte is the regular past form of lächeln, 'to smile'.
Das Kaninchen ging vor dem Schlafengehen nach Hause.
The rabbit went home before bedtime.
Nach Hause means 'home' when describing movement. Vor dem Schlafengehen means 'before going to bed'.
Zum Schluss kam der Bär in sein warmes Bett zurück.
At last, the bear came back to his warm bed.
Zum Schluss gently signals the story's ending. Zurückkommen separates into kam ... zurück in the Präteritum.
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
der Bär
the bear
Use der Bär when the bear is the subject. The plural is die Bären.
das Kaninchen
the rabbit
This noun is neuter. Its plural has the same form: die Kaninchen.
der Zaun
the fence
Zum Zaun means 'to the fence'; zum is short for zu dem.
der Kinderwagen
the pram; the stroller
A useful everyday word for parents.
die weiche Decke
the soft blanket
Weich means 'soft'. Decke means 'blanket' in this story.
der Papa
dad
Papa is warm, informal and common in speech with children.
nach Hause
home; homewards
Use this for movement home. Zu Hause means 'at home'.
das Schlafengehen
going to bed
The activity is used as a noun, so it has a capital letter.
Six common verbs in the narrative Präteritum
The Präteritum is common in written stories, including stories read aloud. These six verbs are irregular, so learn their past forms individually. Ich and er/sie/es share the same forms. A singular noun subject, such as der Bär, uses the er/sie/es form. Everyday conversation often uses the Perfekt instead.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| gehen — to go | ich/er/sie/es ging; du gingst | Der Bär ging in den Garten. |
| kommen — to come | ich/er/sie/es kam; du kamst | Das Kaninchen kam zum Zaun. |
| sehen — to see | ich/er/sie/es sah; du sahst | Der Bär sah ein Baby. |
| finden — to find | ich/er/sie/es fand; du fandest | Er fand eine Decke. |
| geben — to give | ich/er/sie/es gab; du gabst | Er gab dem Papa die Decke. |
| nehmen — to take | ich/er/sie/es nahm; du nahmst | Der Papa nahm die Decke. |
Word order in a story
In a German main clause, the conjugated verb occupies the second position. The first position can contain the subject or a whole time or place phrase. With a separable verb such as zurückkommen, the prefix goes at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject first | subject + verb + rest | Der Bär sah ein Baby. |
| Time or place first | time/place phrase + verb + subject + rest | Unter dem Kinderwagen fand er eine Decke. |
| Separable verb | kam + rest + zurück | Zum Schluss kam der Bär zurück. |
Places, destinations and recipients
With in and unter, use the dative for a location and the accusative for a destination. With geben, the recipient is dative and the thing given is accusative.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Location: where? | unter + dative | Die Decke lag unter dem Kinderwagen. |
| Destination: where to? | in + accusative | Der Bär ging in den Garten. |
| Giving something to someone | geben + dative recipient + accusative thing | Er gab dem Papa die Decke. |
More examples
Dann sah der Bär das Kaninchen.
Then the bear saw the rabbit.
After Dann, place sah before the subject.
Er fand die Decke und nahm sie.
He found the blanket and took it.
Both past-tense verbs share the subject er. Sie refers to the feminine noun die Decke.
Der Papa lächelte, und der Bär ging nach Hause.
Dad smiled, and the bear went home.
A regular past form, lächelte, and an irregular one, ging, can appear together in a story.