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"would" in german, when talking about the past. When talking about past events, in English you might say: Every morning we would go to the beach. I am a bit confused what kind of "would" should be used. To me, the following sounds too literal? Jeden Morgen haben wir in den Strand gegangen. I think "würden" is wrong here, and "wurden" is used for the passive... so I am a bit confused. Your help is much appreciated!
Sep 14, 2014 10:27 AM
Answers · 9
1
"Jeden Morgen würden wir zum Strand gehen." => He/She is talking in past tense about the future/plans/wishes. Something that is not real (yet).
September 14, 2014
Marcel, but German does have an analogous form to this "would", to be precise it is "pflegen": Jeden Morgen pflegten wir zum Strand zu gehen.
September 14, 2014
There's no analogous form to this "would" in German. Using the preterite (simple past) tense will do, since "jeden Morgen" already expresses the recurring character of the action: Jeden Morgen gingen wir zum Strand.
September 14, 2014
The auxiliary for "gehen" is "sein", so "Jeden Morgen sind wir an den Strand gegangen", but it simply means "Every day we went to the beach"
September 14, 2014
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