Frequently Asked German Questions

'Haben' or 'Sein' with the Verb 'Spielen' in German Past Tense?

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For example, the sentence "Der Hund hat im Garten gespielt."

'Spielen' is an action verb that typically requires the verb 'haben' as an auxiliary when forming the perfect tense. Therefore, 'Der Hund hat im Garten gespielt' (The dog played in the garden) is the correct sentence. 'Ist' is generally used with intransitive verbs, especially those depicting movement or state change, which is not the case with 'spielen'. The correct use of 'haben' and 'sein' in the right context forms a crucial part of accurately conveying meaning in the German language.

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