Form the Präteritum: weak, strong, modal
The imperfect (Präteritum) is the written narrative past, used for sein, haben and modals even in speech. Weak verbs add -te: machen → machte. Strong verbs change the stem vowel, no ich/er ending: gehen → ging, fahren → fuhr, sein → war, haben → hatte, werden → wurde. Modals add -te but drop the Umlaut: können → konnte, mögen → mochte (not könnte/möchte = Konjunktiv II). Full tables in the note.
Plusquamperfekt: hatte/war + Partizip II
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) marks an event one step further back than a past you are already narrating. Build it like the Perfekt, but with the auxiliary in the Präteritum: hatte / war + … + Partizip II at the end. Same haben/sein rule (movement / change-of-state → war): Ich hatte schon gegessen, als sie ankam; Der Zug war schon abgefahren, als wir ankamen. Participle formation is identical to the Perfekt (topic 1.7).
Drawn from real examiner reports.
mochte (liked) vs möchte (would like)
mögen has two look-alike forms one Umlaut apart. mochte = Präteritum (past fact): Als Kind mochte ich Schokolade (I liked). möchte = Konjunktiv II, the polite "would like": Ich möchte gern Pizza essen. They are different tenses/moods, not a spelling choice — check the Umlaut against the meaning you intend.
Named in the animals task (s22 42 Q2) and the birthday task (s23 42 Q2 Task 3); s23 42 Accuracy: candidates "often did not form the conditional correctly (mochte for möchte)".
wurde (became) vs würde (would)
The same single-Umlaut trap hits werden. wurde = Präteritum (past fact): Es wurde kalt (it became cold). würde = Konjunktiv II "would": Ich würde gern kommen. wurde for the conditional stands in wrongly for "would"; würde in a plain narrative is the opposite fault. The Umlaut marks a different tense — proof-read it.
s23 42 Accuracy: candidates "often did not form the conditional correctly (wurde instead of würde and mochte for möchte)".
Present left where the past is required
Two slips cost marks. In Reading (Q4/Q6), candidates leave the verb in the source tense or default to the present instead of forming the imperfect. In Writing, a task pointing to the past (damals, früher, als ich klein war) needs a past tense; the present cannot score. Check the required tense before writing.
Imperfect "not formed" under manipulation (w23 22 Q4(a); s23 23 Q4(a), Q6(d)); Writing marks capped for the wrong time frame every sitting (s22 42/43; w22 42; s23 42/43; w23 42).
konnte (past) vs könnte (Konjunktiv II)
A modal keeps its Umlaut in Konjunktiv II but loses it in the Präteritum. A past fact needs the no-Umlaut form: Ich konnte gestern nicht kommen (I could not come). ich könnte is Konjunktiv II ("I could / would be able to") — a different mood. Same for durfte/dürfte and musste/müsste. Past fact → drop the Umlaut; hypothetical → keep it.
(general FL trap)
Weak -te forced onto a strong verb
Strong verbs form the Präteritum by changing the stem vowel, not by adding -te. Bolting -te onto a strong stem is a basic, penalised error: ✗ ich gehte → ich ging; ✗ ich fahrte → ich fuhr; ✗ ich sehte → ich sah. There is no ending in the ich/er forms of a strong verb. Only genuinely weak verbs (machen → machte, spielen → spielte) take -te.
Wrong form of gehen under manipulation (s22 21 Q4(k)); basic-verb past forms "often incorrectly formed" (s22 42/43 Accuracy).
Pluperfect: wrong auxiliary or tense
Two pluperfect faults. Auxiliary: same haben/sein rule as the Perfekt — movement/change-of-state verbs take sein: ✗ Ich hatte nach Hause gegangen → Ich war nach Hause gegangen. Sequencing: the earlier of two past events needs the pluperfect, not a second imperfect: ✗ Ich kochte, bevor sie ankam → Ich hatte gekocht, bevor sie ankam.
mochte and möchte are not the same word
Because mochte and möchte look almost identical (both from mögen), candidates treat them as interchangeable spellings, not two different forms. ✗ (would like) Ich mochte … → möchte. ✗ (plain past) Als Kind möchte … → mochte. Same for wurde (past) vs würde (would). The give-away: only the Umlaut, and the tense it signals, is wrong.
s23 42 Accuracy: candidates "often did not form the conditional correctly (wurde instead of würde and mochte for möchte)".
Choose Präteritum vs Perfekt by register
Spot the past-time signal (damals, früher, als ich klein war). Narrative writing takes the imperfect for the main verbs — and ALWAYS for sein, haben and modals. An everyday account uses the Perfekt, and the Präteritum only for war, hatte, konnte.
Earlier past event → Plusquamperfekt
With two past events, order them: the first takes the Plusquamperfekt (hatte/war + Partizip II), the later one stays in the imperfect: Bevor wir ankamen, hatte meine Mutter schon gepackt. Choose hatte/war by the Perfekt rule (movement → war).
Build the form, then proof-read the Umlaut
Build each form deliberately: weak → stem + -te; strong → changed stem, no ich/er ending; modal → stem + -te, Umlaut dropped. Then proof-read every mochte/möchte and wurde/würde — a missing or added Umlaut flips the tense, the most-flagged precision trap here.
The imperfect (das Präteritum) is German's written narrative past tense — the tense of stories, diary entries and newspaper reports — and it is ALSO the tense used for sein, haben and the modal verbs even in everyday speech. The pluperfect (das Plusquamperfekt) narrates an event one step further back than a past you are already telling.
Weak verbs add -te to the stem, then the normal person endings:
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