It is the past tense of descriptions, stories, used mainly in the written language. Formation:
| Singular | Plural | ||
| 1 | machte | machten | |
| 2 | machtest | machtet | |
| 3 | machte | machten |
Regular verbs form it by adding -te- to the stem. Regular verbs ending in the infinitive in -ten, -den and -men, -nen preceded by a consonant instead of -te- take -ete-: ich arbeitete.
Irregular verbs form Präteritum by changing a vowel, e.g. laufen:
| Singular | Plural | ||
| 1 | lief | liefen | |
| 2 | liefst | lieft | |
| 3 | lief | liefen |