What is the rule for forming (conjugating) the Perfekt?

As the explanation about the use of the Perfekt mentions, the German verb tense Perfekt is always formed with one of the auxiliary verbs ‘haben’ or ‘sein’ and the past participle of the actual main verb. The rule is:

Conjugation of the Perfekt tense

‘haben/sein’ (conjugated forms of the Präsens) + past participle (of the full/main verb)

Example sentences

• „Die Post hat bereits geschlossen.“ (The post office has already closed.)
  • This statement shows the use of the auxiliary verb ‘haben’.
• „Jenny ist vor Kurzem gegangen.“ (Jenny left a little while ago.)
  • In this case, the auxiliary is ‘sein’.

How do you decide between the auxiliaries ‘haben’ and ‘sein’?

The formation of the Perfekt can be tricky for learners of German, as they have to pay attention to choosing the correct auxiliary verb – either ‘sein’ or ‘haben’. Besides this, it needs to be conjugated correctly.

As a tip for distinguishing which auxiliary verb is required, you can remember the following points:

• Verbs that use the auxiliary ‘sein’ form a small group. These include:
  • Verbs of movement:
    • gehen (go), kommen (come), rennen (run), laufen (run), fliegen (fly), fahren (drive), kriechen (creep), etc.
      • „Sie sind gegangen.“ (They have gone.)
  • Verbs of change of state:
    • aufstehen (get up), einschlafen (fall asleep), verwelken (wilt), eingehen (shrink), sterben (die), etc.
      • „Das Kind ist eingeschlafen.“ (The child has fallen asleep.)
  • And a few special verbs, which are best learnt by heart:
    • geschehen (occur), passieren (happen), werden (become), sein (be), gelingen (succeed), bleiben (stay)
      • „Der Unfall ist passiert.“ (The accident has happened.)
• All other verbs – the majority – require ‘haben’. Here too, they are subdivided into the following types to be better remembered:
  • Modal verbs are principally conjugated with ‘haben’:
    • können (can, be able), wollen (want), müssen (must, have to), dürfen (may), etc.
      • „Er hat es gekonnt.“ (He has been able to do it.)
      • Note: Modal verbs are usually used with their past tense form (compare in this context the difference between Präteritum and Perfekt):
        • More common: „Er konnte es.“ (He could do it.)
  • Reflexive verbs belong to this group too:
    • sich fragen (wonder), sich beeilen (hurry), sich waschen (wash), sich rasieren (shave), sich schneiden (cut oneself), sich verletzen (hurt oneself), etc.
      • „Wir haben uns gefragt.“ (We wondered.)
  • Transitive verbs (these are verbs that take a direct or accusative object):
    • schreiben (write), verkaufen (sell), essen (eat), sehen (see), finden (find), etc.
      • „Sie haben ihr Haus verkauft.“ (They have sold their house.)
  • Most of the remaining verbs also need ‘haben’ as the auxiliary verb:
    • tragen (carry), riechen (smell), mähen (mow), lesen (read), singen (sing), bauen (build), schreiben (write), wissen (know), etc.
      • „Du hast gelesen.“ (You have read.)

Conjugation forms of the Perfekt tense

The following table shows the lexical verbs ‘gehen’ (go) with the auxiliary ‘sein’ and ‘arbeiten’ (work) with the auxiliary ‘haben’. They must be conjugated (inflected) for the Perfekt according to grammatical person, number, etc.

Conjugation pattern with ‘sein’

Conjugation pattern with the auxiliary ‘haben’

Further explanations referring to the ‘Formation of the Perfekt’

The following explanations are related to the German grammar topic ‘Conjugation and verb forms of the Perfekt tense’ and could also be interesting:

• The German verb tenses (Tempora)
• The Präsens (present) in German grammar
• Verbs in German grammar
• Grammatical categories of the verb (person, mood, etc.)
• Exercise 1: Perfekt