B1 → Grammar · Lesson 5 of 23

Telling a Story in German: Perfekt, Präteritum & Narrative Connectors

die Erzählung

Before this lesson: make sure you've covered More Subordinating Conjunctions first.

You know Perfekt and Präteritum individually from A2. B1 puts them to work: telling a connected story. In speech and informal writing, Germans use Perfekt for almost everything, switching to Präteritum mainly for sein, haben, and modal verbs. In formal writing (news, stories, reports), Präteritum is much more common throughout.

Types you should know

gesprochen

spoken/informal — mostly Perfekt

geschrieben

formal written — mostly Präteritum

Erzählkonnektoren

narrative connectors: zuerst, dann, danach, schließlich

See it in action

German	English
Zuerst bin ich aufgestanden, dann habe ich gefrühstückt.	First I got up, then I had breakfast.
Danach bin ich zur Arbeit gefahren.	After that I drove to work.
Schließlich bin ich müde ins Bett gegangen.	Finally I went to bed tired.

Spoken vs written style

Style	Example
Spoken (Perfekt)	Ich habe gestern einen Film gesehen.
Written (Präteritum)	Sie sah gestern einen Film.

Memory trick: If you'd say it out loud to a friend, use Perfekt. If you're writing a news report or a novel, reach for Präteritum.

⚠ Common mistake: Don't feel you must switch entirely to Präteritum for writing at B1 — mixing mostly-Perfekt speech with sein/haben/modals in Präteritum is completely natural and correct.

🎯 Quick check

Which narrative connector means 'finally'?

Telling a Story in German: Perfekt, Präteritum & Narrative Connectors

Types you should know

See it in action

Spoken vs written style

🎯 Quick check

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