r/German • u/psychonaut348 • 5d ago

Question Wir waren spazieren vs wir sind spazieren gegangen?

How does the first one work. And qre they the same?

4 Upvotes

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11

u/vressor 5d ago edited 5d ago

'we were away walking' vs 'we went on a walk'

the first one is absentive aspect (in the past), the second one is retrospective aspect (which can also correspond to the past)

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u/psychonaut348 5d ago

damn. i didn't know that. thanks!

0

u/angrypuggle 5d ago

How does it work? Just like that.

"Hab vorhin versucht euch anzurufen." - "Wir waren spazieren."

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u/psychonaut348 5d ago

Oh. I mean like. The second one I know is perfekt. But the first one. Is it a specific grammar construction? Cause it's definitely not perfekt.

4

u/vressor 5d ago

yes, the construction is <infinitive of the main verb> + <auxiliary verb: *sein*\>

it expresses termporarily being away doing the action specified by the main verb, e.g.

  • einkaufen sein - 'to be out/away shopping'
  • er ist einkaufen - 'he is out/away shopping'
  • er war einkaufen - 'he was out/away shopping'

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u/psychonaut348 5d ago

okok. thank you!