FormStamm (Vokalwechsel) + -te + Endung
Meaning and usage
A small group of verbs, often called mixed verbs, forms the preterite with a vowel change and the ending -te: bringen → brachte, denken → dachte, kennen → kannte, wissen → wusste, nennen → nannte, rennen → rannte, brennen → brannte. They combine the two patterns you already know: the vowel change of strong verbs like ging and the -te ending of weak verbs like machte.
Use these forms in written stories and reports, and in speech for wissen and the modals. In everyday spoken German the perfect (ich habe gedacht, ich habe das gewusst) is also completely standard and very common, so both are fine when talking. The typical mistake is inventing forms like denkte or bringte, which follow the regular pattern but do not exist, or mixing in a wrong vowel like dächte for the past tense.
Examples 5
Sie brachte das Buch zurück in die Bibliothek.
She returned the book to the library.
Sie brachte mir eine Tasse Tee ohne Zucker.
She brought me a cup of tea without sugar.
Er dachte drei Tage über die Sache nach.
He thought the matter over for three days.
Sie dachte eine Weile über die Frage nach.
She pondered the question for a while.
Bis vor kurzem wusste ich noch nichts davon.
I didn't know about that until quite recently.
Test yourself
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1 Sprachbausteine
Früher ich alle Nachbarn in unserer Straße.
Show answer
Correct answer: kannte
Früher puts the sentence in the past. kennen is a mixed verb: the vowel changes to a and -te is added, so ich kannte.
- kennte is a rare Konjunktiv II form, not the past tense.
- kenne is the present tense, but früher puts the sentence in the past.
- kannt has the right vowel but lacks the -e of the past ending.
In this topic: Preterite
- machte, wohnte: Stamm + -te weak verbs form the preterite with -te
- arbeitete, redete, wartete adding a linking e before -te in the preterite
- ging, kam, sah past tense of strong verbs: stem vowel changes, no -te
- brachte, dachte, kannte, wusste mixed verbs change the vowel and add -te
- konnte, musste, wollte, durfte spoken past of the modals, without umlaut
- wurde: Er wurde Arzt. became, the past of werden as a full verb
- es gab there was, there were
- Er stand früh auf. Separable verbs split in the preterite too
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.