du warst
In German, du warst is the way to say "you were".
This phrase is the past tense of the verb "to be" used with du, for one person you know well.
Which one should you use?
Use ihr wart when addressing a group of people whom you address as du (friends, family or children). Use Sie waren instead of du warst when addressing someone formally or in a professional setting.
How does it change in a sentence?
du warst is the singular informal form of "you were".
Did you know?
- The formal Sie waren uses a pronoun that literally means 'they', effectively addressing a person as a group to create a polite psychological distance.
- The word du is a direct linguistic relative of the archaic English word 'thou'. Both descend from the same Proto-Germanic root used to address a single person informally.
- While du warst is the past tense, German speakers often use the present perfect form du bist gewesen in spoken conversation to say 'you were' or 'you have been'.
Examples in context
- Du warst im Koma.You were in a coma.This sentence shows how to use du warst to describe a medical state.Tatoeba #7481913 by Yorwba, translation #2647740 by CK
- Du warst zu jung.You were too young.This sentence demonstrates using du warst to describe a person's age in the past.Tatoeba #10082050 by wolfgangth, translation #2548454 by CK
- Du warst auch da.You were there, too.This sentence shows how to use du warst to indicate presence in a location.Tatoeba #10083856 by wolfgangth, translation #3819166 by CK
- 189 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Laura and Felix are talking about a party from last weekend.
- LauraDu warst gestern auf der Party, oder?You were at the party yesterday, right?
- FelixJa, ich war kurz dort.Yes, I was there for a bit.
- LauraIch dachte, du warst schon zu Hause.I thought you were already at home.
- FelixNein, ich bin erst spät gekommen.No, I arrived late.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries du, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
