English & German TensesCompared

Present Tense = Präsens

Perfect Past Tense = Plusquamperfekt

Imperfect Past Tense = Imperfekt

Pluperfect Tense = Plusquamperfekt

Future Tense = Futur

Future Perfect Tense = Futur II

Present Tense = PräsensThis is the tense of now. The primary problem for

English speakers is that German has only one present tense, and English has three..

Ich esse einen Hamburger.

I eat a Hamburger.I am eating a Hamburger.I do eat Hamburger..

This is the tense of the recent past. The problem again is that German has only one form, and English has four.

Ich habe einen Hamburger gegessen.

I have eaten a Hamburger.I did eat a Hamburger.I was eating a Hamburger.I have been eating a Hamburger..

Perfect Past Tense = Plusquamperfekt

This tense is a parallel tense of recent past. In both languages it’s a shorter form, easier to use. Yet again,

German has just one form, and English has three. German uses this tense less in the spoken language

prefering the Perfect.

Ich aβ einen Hamburger.

I ate a Hamburger.I did eat a Hamburger.I was eating a Hamburger..

Imperfect Past Tense = Imperfekt

This tense is for actions further back in the past. Once more, German has just one form, and English has two

Ich hatte einen Hamburger gegessen.

I had eaten a Hamburger.I had been eating a Hamburger.

Pluperfect Tense = Plusquamperfekt

This is the tense of things which have not yet happened. German has – you guessed it – just one form. English,

well………

Ich werde einen Hamburger essen.

I will (shall) eat a Hamburger.I will (shall) be eating a Hamburger.

Future Tense = Futur

To further complicated matters, German can sometimes use the present tense to refer to a future action.

This is the tense of things which have not yet happened but whose completion you can confidently predict.

Again, German has just one form, and English….

Ich werde einen Hamburger gegessen haben.

I will (shall) have eaten a Hamburger.I will (shall) have been eating a Hamburger.

Future Perfect Tense = Futur II