General Linguistics: Formation of "Prefekt" in German

From My Lecture Serie at the University of Freiburg (Germany) 2011 You could watch the full presentation via YouTube The Present Perfect tense in German and English share similarities but also have distinct differences in their formation and usage. Here's a detailed explanation: Formation of Present Perfect Tense German: The Present Perfect tense in German, also known as *Perfekt*, is formed using the auxiliary verbs *haben* (to have) or *sein* (to be) and the past participle of the main verb. 1. **Auxiliary Verb:** - *haben* is used with most verbs. - *sein* is used with verbs that indicate movement or a change of state, and with a few others. 2. **Past Participle:** - For regular verbs, the past participle is formed by adding *-ge-* to the verb stem and *-t* or *-et* to the end of the verb. - e.g., *machen* (to do) → *gemacht* - For irregular verbs, the past participle often involves a vowel change and ends in *-en*. - e.g., *sehen* (to see) → *gesehen* **Examples:** - Ich habe das Buch gelesen. (I have read the book.) - Er ist nach Hause gegangen. (He has gone home.) #### English: The Present Perfect tense in English is formed using the auxiliary verb *have* (in the appropriate form) and the past participle of the main verb. 1. **Auxiliary Verb:** - *have* for first and second person singular and all plural forms. - *has* for third person singular. 2. **Past Participle:** - Regular verbs form the past participle by adding *-ed* to the base form. - e.g., *walk* → *walked* - Irregular verbs have unique past participles. - e.g., *see* → *seen* **Examples:** - I have read the book. - He has gone home. ##Comparison of Present Perfect Tense in German and English: 1. **Formation:** - Both languages use an auxiliary verb and a past participle. - German uses either *haben* or *sein* as auxiliaries, while English uses only *have* (or *has*). 2. **Usage:** - In English, the Present Perfect tense is used to express actions that occurred at an unspecified time in the past and are relevant to the present. - e.g., I have eaten breakfast. (At some point before now, but the exact time is not important.) - In German, the Present Perfect is often used in spoken language to refer to past actions, taking the place of the simple past, especially in conversational contexts. - e.g., Ich habe gefrühstückt. (I ate breakfast.) Alignment with Simple Past in English: The Simple Past tense in English is used to describe actions that were completed at a specific point in the past. In contrast, the Present Perfect tense in English does not specify when the action occurred and is often used to indicate relevance to the present moment. **Examples:** - Simple Past: I ate breakfast. (Specifies a completed action in the past.) - Present Perfect: I have eaten breakfast. (Indicates the action was completed at some point before now, without specifying when.) In German, the simple past (*Präteritum*) is typically used in written language and formal contexts, while the Present Perfect (*Perfekt*) is preferred in spoken language for past events. **Examples:** - Simple Past (German): Ich aß Frühstück. (I ate breakfast. - more common in written form) - Present Perfect (German): Ich habe gefrühstückt. (I ate breakfast. - more common in spoken form)