German · A1 · Family moment
Tell Me More in German
Make a little time to hear about your child's day. Use gentle questions and learn war (was) and hatte (had), two common German simple past forms.
What you'll learn
- Ask your child about their day, friends and activities.
- Use war and hatte to talk about the past.
- Ask past-tense questions without adding a word for English did.
German phrases for tell me more
Wie war dein Tag?
How was your day?
Use dein when speaking informally to one child.
War dein Freund da?
Was your friend there?
Use dein Freund for a male friend and deine Freundin for a female friend. Da means there.
War das Projekt schwierig?
Was the project difficult?
Schwierig means difficult. It stays unchanged after war.
Hat das Spiel Spaß gemacht?
Was the game fun?
German naturally uses Spaß machen for being fun. This question uses the conversational past tense, the Perfekt.
Ich war heute beschäftigt.
I was busy today.
Heute means today. Beschäftigt means busy or occupied.
Ich hatte einen guten Tag.
I had a good day.
After hatte, ein guter Tag becomes einen guten Tag because it is the direct object.
Hattest du genug Zeit?
Did you have enough time?
Hattest is the past form of haben with du. German does not add an equivalent of did.
Hattest du Spaß bei der Übernachtungsparty?
Did you have fun at the sleepover?
Spaß haben means to have fun. Bei der Übernachtungsparty means at the sleepover.
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 Tag
the day
Dein Tag means your day.
der Freund / die Freundin
the male friend / the female friend
Choose the form that fits the friend you are asking about.
das Projekt
the project
Useful for talking about school activities.
das Spiel
the game
Can refer to a board game, a sports game or another kind of game.
schwierig
difficult
Das war schwierig means that was difficult.
beschäftigt
busy
Use it to describe someone who has things to do.
genug Zeit
enough time
No article is needed in this expression.
der Spaß
fun
Spaß haben means to have fun; Spaß machen means to be fun.
die Übernachtungsparty
the sleepover
A gathering where children stay overnight.
War: the simple past of sein
Sein means to be. Its simple past forms are common in everyday spoken German. Use war with ich and with a singular person or thing, but warst with du.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I was | ich war | Ich war heute beschäftigt. |
| You were | du warst | Du warst heute beschäftigt. |
| A person or thing was | er / sie / es war | Das Projekt war schwierig. |
Hatte: the simple past of haben
Haben means to have. Its simple past is also common in conversation. Use hatte with ich and with a singular person or thing, but hattest with du.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I had | ich hatte | Ich hatte einen guten Tag. |
| You had | du hattest | Du hattest genug Zeit. |
| He or she had | er / sie hatte | Sie hatte Spaß. |
Asking questions about the past
For a yes-or-no question, put war or hattest first. With a question word such as wie (how), put that word first and the verb second. Do not add a separate verb for English did.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Was ...? | War + subject + ...? | War dein Freund da? |
| Did you have ...? | Hattest + du + ...? | Hattest du genug Zeit? |
| How was ...? | Wie + war + subject? | Wie war dein Tag? |
More examples
Mein Tag war gut.
My day was good.
A simple answer to Wie war dein Tag?
Ja, mein Freund war da.
Yes, my friend was there.
In this statement, war follows the subject mein Freund.
Ja, ich hatte viel Spaß!
Yes, I had a lot of fun!
Viel Spaß means a lot of fun.