German A2.23 Listening Practice: Retrieve The Completed Event System
Listen to a A2 German dialogue about retrieve the completed event system, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
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Level
A2.23
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
21 segments
A short German listening chapter with transcript.
Tell a short completed-event sequence using only forms already practiced in this unit.
Read while you listen.
1. Hanna · Teacher
Welcome to today's podcast! We are practicing how to talk about completed past events in German. Pay attention to whether we use 'haben' or 'sein', keep the participle at the end of the clause, and notice how speakers can self-correct on the fly. Let's listen to our German speakers, Felix and Clara.
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2. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Gestern bin ich nach Berlin gefahren, habe meine Freundin besucht und sie angerufen.
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3. Clara · Native Speaker 2
Das klingt schön! Ich habe gestern viel gelernt und am Abend einen interessanten Film gesehen.
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4. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Ich habe gefahren... nein, ich bin auch kurz in die Stadt gefahren und habe ein Buch gekauft.
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5. Clara · Native Speaker 2
Später habe ich meinen Bruder angerufen, aber er ist nicht zu mir gekommen.
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6. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Am Ende bin ich pünktlich nach Hause gekommen und habe noch etwas gelernt.
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7. Hanna · Teacher
Great job listening! Now let's break down these five sentences step by step. In the first sentence, Felix said: 'Gestern bin ich nach Berlin gefahren, habe meine Freundin besucht und sie angerufen.'
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8. Lukas · Student
Why is the participle 'gefahren' placed all the way at the end of that first part?
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9. Hanna · Teacher
In German, the auxiliary verb like 'bin' takes second position, and the participle 'gefahren' goes to the very end to complete the sentence bracket. Also, movement to a location uses 'sein', so Felix says 'bin gefahren'.
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10. Hanna · Teacher
In the second sentence, Clara said: 'Das klingt schön! Ich habe gestern viel gelernt und am Abend einen interessanten Film gesehen.'
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11. Lukas · Student
Do both 'gelernt' and 'gesehen' take 'haben' as their helping verb here?
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12. Hanna · Teacher
Yes! Standard actions without movement from point A to point B use 'haben', giving us 'habe gelernt' and 'habe gesehen'.
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13. Hanna · Teacher
In sentence three, Felix said: 'Ich habe gefahren... nein, ich bin auch kurz in die Stadt gefahren und habe ein Buch gekauft.'
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14. Lukas · Student
Is it normal to self-repair like Felix did when choosing between 'haben' and 'sein'?
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15. Hanna · Teacher
Absolutely! Self-repairing is a natural part of language learning. Felix caught himself using 'habe' for travel and quickly switched to 'bin gefahren'.
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16. Hanna · Teacher
In sentence four, Clara said: 'Später habe ich meinen Bruder angerufen, aber er ist nicht zu mir gekommen.'
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17. Lukas · Student
Why does calling someone take 'habe angerufen' while arriving takes 'ist gekommen'?
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18. Hanna · Teacher
Calling on the phone is a fixed activity with 'haben', whereas 'kommen' involves movement toward a destination, which requires 'sein', so Clara says 'ist... gekommen'.
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19. Hanna · Teacher
Finally, in sentence five, Felix said: 'Am Ende bin ich pünktlich nach Hause gekommen und habe noch etwas gelernt.'
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20. Lukas · Student
So both clauses maintain their sentence bracket with the participles at the very end?
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21. Hanna · Teacher
Exactly! 'bin... gekommen' ends the first clause, and 'habe... gelernt' ends the second. Keep practicing these core patterns, and you'll build speed in no time!
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