Overview of Tenses – Free Exercise

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Exercises

When do we use each tense? You may only select each tense once.

  1. abgeschlossene Handlung mit Bezug zur Gegenwart: Finished action with a connection to the present → Perfekt (present perfect)
  2. Vermutung, was bereits geschehen ist: Making an assumption about something that has already happened → Futur II (future perfect)
  3. Erzählzeitform für die Vergangenheit: Narrative form for the past → Präteritum (simple past)
  4. Handlungen in der Gegenwart/Zukunft: Present and future events → Präsens (present tense)
  5. Absicht/Vermutung für die Zukunft: Intention/assumption about the future → Futur I (future tense)
  6. Rückblick aus der Vergangenheit auf zuvor Geschehenes: Looking back from a point in the past at something that occurred before → Plusquamperfekt (past perfect)

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb. If no verb is required, choose the dash (-).

  1. Gestern war ein schöner Tag. Die Sonne bei milden 20°C .Narrative past tense → Präteritum (simple past)Yesterday was a nice day. The sun was shining and it was a mild 20°c.
  2. Also ich meine Wanderstiefel Narrative past tense → Präteritum (simple past)So I put on my hiking boots
    und in die Berge .Narrative past tense → Präteritum (simple past)and drove to the mountains.
  3. Ich bergauf und bergab , vier Stunden lang.Narrative past tense → Präteritum (simple past)I hiked up and down the mountains for four hours.
  4. Das ich lange nicht mehr .Talking about a past action that occurred prior to another action in the past → Plusquamperfekt (past perfect)I hadn’t done that for ages.
  5. Seit heute Morgen ich dafür starken Muskelkater in den Beinen , jeder Schritt .Action that began in the past and is ongoing at the moment of speaking (signal word: seit) → Präsens (present)That’s why I’ve had sore leg muscles since this morning, every step hurts.
  6. Ich es gestern eindeutig .Finished action with a connection to the present (I have sore muscles now) → Perfekt (present perfect)I obviously overdid it yesterday.
  7. Ab jetzt ich täglich ein wenig .Future intention → Futur I (future)From now on I’m going to train a little bit every day.
  8. Bis zur nächsten großen Tour meine Kondition dann hoffentlich .Assumption about a future goal that will have been achieved by a certain point in the future → Futur II (future perfect)Hopefully my fitness levels will have improved by the next big hike!