German Past Participle Exercises Perfecting the Past | B1

Regular Past Participles Exercises

For regular (weak) verbs in German, the past participle is formed using a simple rule:

1. Prefix "ge-": Add "ge-" at the beginning of the verb.
2. Stem of the Verb: Keep the stem of the verb unchanged.
3. Suffix "-t": Add "-t" at the end of the verb.

Examples:

• arbeiten (to work) → gearbeitet
  
• spielen (to play) → gespielt
  
• machen (to do/make) → gemacht
  

Irregular German Past Participles Exercises

Irregular (strong) verbs, however, differ in the following ways:

1. Vowel Change: The stem vowel often changes, which does not follow a single rule and varies between verbs.
2. Prefix "ge-": Many irregular verbs also start with "ge-", but there are exceptions, particularly with verbs that have separable prefixes or are intransitive.
3. Suffix "-en": Instead of "-t", irregular verbs end with "-en".

Examples:

• sprechen (to speak) → gesprochen (note the vowel change from 'e' to 'o')
• finden (to find) → gefunden (vowel change from 'i' to 'u')
• gehen (to go) → gegangen (vowel change from 'e' to 'a')

Some irregular verbs might not use the "ge-" prefix, especially if they end in -ieren (e.g., studieren → studiert) or have inseparable prefixes (e.g., verstehen → verstanden, not "geverstanden").

Past Participle Exercises

To get more practice with German past participles, let's do a few more exercises! The next exercises require either a regular or an irregular German past participle:

1

2

3