When to use haben and sein in Perfect tense

Dec 21

When speaking, Germans mostly use the Perfect tense. But often, students stumble over the rules of when to use “haben” and “sein”. After reading this article and practicing with its free worksheet, you will have no doubts.

Tense: Perfekt in German

Unlike English, German has two auxiliary verbs, which we need to form a sentence in the “Perfect tense.” They are “sein” and “haben”. Now, many students are unsure about when to use which one, and basically, it sounds more complicated to make the right decision than it really is.

Recommended study materials on the topic:

A-Grammar: Practice German grammar German (incl. answers)
B-Grammar: Practice German grammar German (incl. answers)
German self-study book for A1-B1 (incl. answers)

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When to use “sein” in German perfect tense

Three options demand the usage of “sein”:

The verb “sein” in perfect tense (Ich bin gewesen – I have been)
Verbs that describe that somebody or something physically moves to another place (fahren, schwimmen, fliegen, gehen, laufen, etc.)
Verbs that describe a change of state or a verb that normally cannot be performed in “passive” (bleiben, aufwachen, sterben, warden, etc.)

When to use “haben” in German perfect tense

There are two options that demand the usage of “haben”:

The verb “haben” in perfect tense (Ich habe gehabt – I have had)
All the verbs which do not fulfill the requirements to be used with “sein”

The decision-making of “haben” and “sein” in the perfect tense

Now, you should know when to use which one. As a guideline, I always recommend doing the following: Check if your verb fulfills the requirements for “sein” point by point, and if you figure out that your verb does not do so, you can use “haben” as it will be shown in the following example. (Of course, there are a few exceptions, as usual.)

Now, let’s form the sentence „Ich mache Hausaufgaben.” into perfect tense.

The verb “machen” is not “sein” and therefore does not fulfill the first criteria.
The verb “machen” does not necessarily cause the subject to move from a to b, it does not fulfill the second criterion either.
The verb “machen” can be used in the passive voice as something can be done; therefore, it does not fulfill the third criterion.

This brings us to the consequence that the verb “machen” needs to be used with “haben” in the perfect tense, and therefore our example sentence will look like this: “Ich habe Hausaufgaben gemacht”.

Is it “haben” or “sein”?

Finally, after you understand when to use which auxiliary verb in the German past perfect tense, you can practice your new skills in the free worksheet: When to use “haben” and “sein” in Perfekt.

Bis bald!

Steffie

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