haben.
The default auxiliary.
haben does two things. On its own, it is an Akkusativ verb: it takes a direct object and expresses possession or a state. Combined with a past participle, it becomes an auxiliary verb and builds the Perfekt. Most German verbs form their past tense this way. When in doubt between haben and sein, haben is the safer bet.
The forms: Präsens
haben is slightly irregular in the du and er · sie · es forms, where the b drops out. All other forms follow the regular conjugation pattern.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | ich habe |
| du | du hast |
| er · sie · es | er hat |
| wir | wir haben |
| ihr | ihr habt |
| sie · Sie | sie haben |
The forms: Präteritum
Like sein, haben always uses Präteritum in past contexts, not Perfekt. hatte is the standard form and sounds natural everywhere, in conversation and in writing.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | ich hatte |
| du | du hattest |
| er · sie · es | er hatte |
| wir | wir hatten |
| ihr | ihr hattet |
| sie · Sie | sie hatten |
Why haben always uses Präteritum in the past: see Präteritum.
Job 1: regular transitive verb
As a standalone verb, haben expresses possession or a state. It takes an Akkusativ object, like most German verbs.
- Ich habekeineZeit. (I have no time.)
- Er hatHunger. (He is hungry.)
- Wir habeneinProblem. (We have a problem.)
- Sie hatteeine gute Idee. (She had a good idea.)
Unlike sein, werden, and bleiben, haben is not a copula. It takes an object, not a second Nominativ. The thing you have is in the Akkusativ.
For copula verbs that keep both sides Nominativ: sein, werden, bleiben: both sides yellow.
Job 2: the default Perfekt auxiliary
haben forms the Perfekt for the majority of German verbs. Any verb with an Akkusativ object uses haben. Any verb that does not express movement from A to B or a change of state uses haben. Here haben is gray, not green: it is acting as the auxiliary verb that builds the Perfekt, not as the standalone transitive verb from Job 1. When in doubt, haben is right.
- Ich habe Deutschgelernt. (I learned German.)
- Er hat dasBuchgelesen. (He read the book.)
- Wir haben gut gegessen. (We ate well.)
- Sie hat lange gearbeitet. (She worked for a long time.)
- Ihr habt gut gespielt. (You played well.)
The auxiliary goes in position two, conjugated to match the subject. The past participle goes to the end of the sentence, and never changes its form.
For the full Perfekt formation and the haben vs. sein rule: Perfekt. The spoken past.
haben is slightly irregular in the present (habe, hast, hat, haben, habt, haben) and always uses Präteritum in the past (hatte, hattest...). As a standalone verb it expresses possession. As an auxiliary it builds the Perfekt for the vast majority of German verbs. When unsure, use haben.