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Grammar | |
Verbs | |
Present Perfect | |
Use |
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Present Perfect - Use |
The German Present Perfect is very often used in the spoken language.
You use this tense for:
| 1. | actions or situations finished in the past | |||
| Example: | Er hat gestern ein Fahrrad gekauft. | |||
| Phonetic Script: | [e:ɐ hat 'gɛstɐn ain 'fa:ɐra:t gə'kauft] | |||
| English: | He bought a bike yesterday. | |||
| Literally: | He has yesterday a bike bought. | |||
| 2. | actions finished in the past which still have an effect on the present situation so that the consequence is in the foreground | |||
Action: |
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| Example: | Ich habe die Prüfung bestanden. | |||
| Phonetic Script: | [ɪç 'ha:bə di: 'pry:fʊŋ bə'ʃtandən] | |||
| English: | I have passed the exam. | |||
| Literally: | I have the exam passed. | |||
| Consequence: |
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| Example: | Jetzt bin ich froh. | |||
| Phonetic Script: | [jɛtst bɪn ɪç fro:] | |||
| English: | Now I am happy. | |||
| Literally: | Now am I happy. | |||
| 3. | an action which will be finished in the future (together with a temporal adverb spoken) | |||
| Example: | Bald hat sie ihr Studium beendet. | |||
| Phonetic Script: | [balt hat zi: i:ə ˈʃtu:diʊm bə'ɛndət] | |||
| English: | Soon he has finished her studies. | |||
| Literally: | Soon has she her studies finished. | |||
| Normally the Simple Past is used in the written language. But if you write to family members or close friends, you also use the Present Perfect in messages or letters. | ||||