Perfekt with haben in German (A2)

what is it?

The Perfekt is the main way to talk about completed past events in spoken and informal written German. It is a two-part verb form: a conjugated form of haben (to have) plus a past participle (Partizip II). Most verbs — including all transitive verbs (those that take a direct object) and many intransitive verbs — form the Perfekt with haben as the auxiliary.

when to use it

Completed actions in the past. Use the Perfekt to describe something that happened and is now finished: Ich habe gearbeitet (I worked / I have worked).
Transitive verbs. Any verb that can take a direct accusative object uses haben: kaufen, essen, lesen, sehen, machen, etc.
Many intransitive verbs. Intransitive verbs that do not express motion or a change of state also take haben: schlafen, arbeiten, warten, etc.
Spoken and informal contexts. In conversation and informal writing, the Perfekt is preferred over the simple past (Präteritum) for almost all verbs except sein, haben, and modal verbs.

formation

The structure is always: subject + haben (conjugated) + … + Partizip II. The past participle goes to the very end of the clause.

For most regular (weak) verbs, the Partizip II is built as: ge- + stem + -t. For example, machen → gemacht; arbeiten → gearbeitet. Strong (irregular) verbs have their own Partizip II forms, e.g. lesen → gelesen; sehen → gesehen.

pronoun	haben (present)	example Partizip II	full sentence
ich	habe	gemacht	Ich habe das gemacht.
du	hast	gemacht	Du hast das gemacht.
er / sie / es	hat	gemacht	Er hat das gemacht.
wir	haben	gemacht	Wir haben das gemacht.
ihr	habt	gemacht	Ihr habt das gemacht.
sie / Sie	haben	gemacht	Sie haben das gemacht.

The conjugated form of haben always occupies the second position in a main clause. The Partizip II is always last.

examples in context

Ich habe ein Buch gelesen.

I read a book. / I have read a book.

Transitive verb lesen takes a direct object (ein Buch), so haben is the correct auxiliary. The Partizip II gelesen stands at the end.

Wir haben gestern gearbeitet.

We worked yesterday.

Intransitive verb arbeiten expresses no motion or change of state, so it uses haben. Note the time adverb gestern sits in the middle; the Partizip II still comes last.

Er hat einen Kaffee gekauft.

He bought a coffee.

Regular weak verb kaufen → Partizip II gekauft (ge- + kauf + -t).

Habt ihr das Film gesehen?

Did you (all) see the film?

In a yes/no question, haben moves to first position, but the Partizip II gesehen still comes last.

common pitfalls

Using sein instead of haben with transitive verbs.
✗ Ich bin ein Buch gelesen. ✓ Ich habe ein Buch gelesen.
Transitive verbs — those that take a direct object — always use haben, never sein. If you can ask «What?» or «Whom?» after the verb, it is transitive and needs haben.
Placing the Partizip II in the middle of the clause.
✗ Wir haben gearbeitet gestern. ✓ Wir haben gestern gearbeitet.
The Partizip II must be the last element in a main clause. Adverbs, objects, and other elements all come before it, between the conjugated haben and the Partizip II.

Quick check

Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.

1 / 3

Meine Mutter hat das Essen warm ___ . (halten)

Fill in the blank with the correct Perfekt form of the verb in parentheses.