Hello, dear students! Today, we'll discuss the past tense in German called Präteritum. This form is mainly used in written texts, stories, and fairy tales, often appearing as "Es war einmal..." (Once upon a time...).
However, in daily spoken German, we primarily use the Präteritum form for just two verbs: "sein" (to be) and "haben" (to have). For example, to say "I was at the cinema yesterday," you would say Ich war gestern im Kino. And for "I didn't have time," it's Ich hatte keine Zeit. Mastering Präteritum for these specific verbs is crucial. Keep practicing!