NameSection4.9 Simple Sentences I: German
Study the German sentences 1-25 and answer the questions that follow.
The German sentences are all in the perfective tense, which corresponds to the
simple past in English: for example, hat gemacht "made." In English the perfective
is made up of the auxiliary verb have and the past participle of the main verb: for
example, John has eaten. In German the perfective is also made up of an auxiliary
verb and the past participle of the main verb, but German uses two different
auxiliary verbs: haben "to have" and sein "to be." The auxiliary verb sein, which
appears in its third person singular form ist in this exercise, is used when the main
verb refers to "motion" or a "change in state"; otherwise, the auxiliary verb is
haben. In sentence 3, for example, the verb fahren "to travel," which indicates
motion, appears in its third person singular perfective form with auxiliary sein: ist
gefahren.- Er hat gestern eine Bemerkung gemacht.
"He made a remark yesterday." - Gestern hat er eine Bemerkung gemacht.
"Yesterday he made a remark." - Sie ist langsam in die Stadt gefahren.
"She traveled into the city slowly. " - Er hat nicht langsam gesprochen.
"He didn't speak slowly." - Langsam ist sie in die Stadt gefahren.
"Slowly she traveled into the city." - Gestern ist sie nicht in die Stadt gefahren.
"Yesterday she didn't travel into the city." - Gefahren ist der Mann in die Stadt.
"The man traveled into the city." - Den Mann hat er nicht gesehen.
"He didn't see the man." - Gesehen hat eine Frau einen Mann.
"A woman saw a man." - Eine Frau hat ein Mann gesehen.
"A man saw a woman." - Sie hat die Bemerkung nicht gemacht.
"She didn't make the remark." - Ein Mann ist nicht gegangen.
"A man didn't go."