German - Past Experiences

Lesson 67 of 158

Learner reflecting on past experiences in German — lesson about describing what happened and how you felt.

Goal: Reflecting on what happened and how you felt

Free German lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

Nice work reaching Lesson 67 — you're building deeper ways to talk about your life. In this short lesson we’ll listen to useful B1 phrases, try them in practice, and say them out loud.

Level B1: In this lesson you'll practice useful phrases to describe past situations, reflect on outcomes, and ask about feelings. We'll focus on frames like “Damals war ich…”, “Mir war nicht klar, dass…”, “Es hat sich als … herausgestellt” and related phrases so you can tell stories about what happened and how you feel about it now. (CEFR-aligned, friendly practice.)

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Use eight B1 frames to describe past situations, feelings, and outcomes.
  • Ask and answer questions about emotions during past events.
  • Reflect on a past experience and state what you learned.
Two friends talk about a past internship in German; practicing B1 phrases for reflection and feelings.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

Damals war ich ___.

At the time, I was ___.

Meaning: At the time, I was ___.

When to use: Use this frame to set the background: age, location, feelings, or life situation (e.g. 'noch Student', 'in Berlin', 'sehr nervös').

Damals war ich noch Studentin.
At the time, I was still a student.
Damals war ich in Berlin.
Back then I was in Berlin.

Mir war nicht klar, dass ___.

I didn’t realize that ___.

Meaning: I didn’t realize that ___.

When to use: Use this to explain something you understood only later. After 'dass', the conjugated verb goes to the end of the clause.

Tip: Beginners sometimes place the verb too early after 'dass'. In German subordinate clauses the conjugated verb goes at the end.

Mir war nicht klar, dass das Meeting verschoben wurde.
I didn't realize that the meeting was postponed.
Mir war nicht klar, dass er schon gegangen war.
I didn't realize that he had already left.

Es hat sich als ___ herausgestellt.

It turned out to be ___.

Meaning: It turned out to be ___.

When to use: Give the final result or your evaluation of an experience; the blank can be an adjective or noun phrase like 'schwierig', 'eine gute Idee'.

Es hat sich als gute Entscheidung herausgestellt.
It turned out to be a good decision.
Es hat sich als schwieriger herausgestellt als erwartet.
It turned out to be more difficult than expected.

Im Nachhinein denke ich, dass ___.

Looking back, I think ___.

Meaning: Looking back, I think ___.

When to use: Use this phrase for reflection from your current viewpoint. After 'dass', put the conjugated verb at the end.

Tip: Remember the subordinate clause order: the verb goes to the end after 'dass'.

Im Nachhinein denke ich, dass ich mehr Zeit hätte einplanen sollen.
Looking back, I think I should have planned more time.
Im Nachhinein denke ich, dass der Fehler vermeidbar war.
In retrospect, I think the mistake was avoidable.

Wie hast du dich gefühlt, als ___?

How did you feel when ___?

Meaning: How did you feel when ___?

When to use: Ask about someone's emotions during a past event. Informal 'du' is used here; for formal use 'Wie haben Sie sich gefühlt, als ___?'.

Wie hast du dich gefühlt, als du die Nachricht bekommen hast?
How did you feel when you received the news?
Wie hast du dich gefühlt, als du in die Stadt gezogen bist?
How did you feel when you moved to the city?

Ich habe ___ mit ___ verbracht.

I spent ___ doing ___.

Meaning: I spent ___ doing ___.

When to use: Describe how you used your time during a past period. 'Mit' takes the dative (mit dem/der/einem/einer ...).

Tip: Watch the case after 'mit' — it requires dative (e.g. 'mit meiner Familie'), not accusative.

Ich habe das Wochenende mit meiner Familie verbracht.
I spent the weekend with my family.
Ich habe den Sommer mit Freiwilligenarbeit verbracht.
I spent the summer doing volunteer work.

Wir sollten eigentlich ___, aber ___.

We were supposed to ___, but ___.

Meaning: We were supposed to ___, but ___.

When to use: Explain that an original plan changed. After 'sollten' use an infinitive (e.g. 'gehen', 'uns treffen'). 'Eigentlich' signals the plan changed.

Wir sollten eigentlich um acht losfahren, aber der Zug hatte Verspätung.
We were supposed to leave at eight, but the train was delayed.
Wir sollten eigentlich das Projekt abschließen, aber dann kamen neue Anforderungen.
We were supposed to finish the project, but then new requirements came up.

Am Anfang war ich wegen ___ nervös.

I was nervous about ___ at first.

Meaning: I was nervous about ___ at first.

When to use: Describe an initial emotional reaction (e.g. presentation, interview, moving). You can also say 'Ich war am Anfang nervös wegen ___.'

Am Anfang war ich wegen des Vorstellungsgesprächs nervös.
At first I was nervous about the job interview.
Am Anfang war ich wegen der Sprache nervös.
At the beginning I was nervous about the language.

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna tells David about a past internship in Berlin; they reflect on feelings and outcomes.

Anna and David discuss an internship and how it turned out, using past-experience frames in German.

What past experience are Anna and David talking about?

Portrait of Anna in a German lesson dialogue

Anna

Damals war ich noch Studentin und ich hatte ein Praktikum in Berlin.

Back then I was still a student and I had an internship in Berlin.

Portrait of David in a German lesson dialogue

David

Wie hast du dich gefühlt, als du das erste Mal allein in der Stadt warst?

How did you feel when you were alone in the city for the first time?

Portrait of Anna in a German lesson dialogue

Anna

Am Anfang war ich wegen der Größe der Stadt nervös.

At first I was nervous about the size of the city.

Portrait of David in a German lesson dialogue

David

Mir war nicht klar, dass das Praktikum so viel Verantwortung bringen würde.

I didn't realize that the internship would bring so much responsibility.

Portrait of Anna in a German lesson dialogue

Anna

Es hat sich als sehr lehrreich herausgestellt.

It turned out to be very educational.

Portrait of David in a German lesson dialogue

David

Im Nachhinein denke ich, dass solche Erfahrungen wichtig sind.

Looking back, I think experiences like that are important.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

Which German phrase means 'Looking back, I think ___'?

Which German sentence best matches: 'We were supposed to leave at eight, but the train was delayed.'?

Choose the German phrase that begins a sentence meaning 'I didn't realize that he had already left.'

Which phrase best matches 'It turned out to be a difficult task'?

At that time I was a student.

To say 'At that time I was a student,' choose the correct German frame: ___

How did you feel when you gave the presentation?

You want to ask a friend 'How did you feel when you gave the presentation?' Choose the correct German question: ___

It turned out to be more difficult than expected.

You want to explain 'It turned out to be more difficult than expected.' Choose the correct German frame to begin: ___

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

Damals war ich ___.

At the time, I was ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

Mir war nicht klar, dass ___.

I didn’t realize that ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

Es hat sich als ___ herausgestellt.

It turned out to be ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

Im Nachhinein denke ich, dass ___.

Looking back, I think ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

Wie hast du dich gefühlt, als ___?

How did you feel when ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

Ich habe ___ mit ___ verbracht.

I spent ___ doing ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

Wir sollten eigentlich ___, aber ___.

We were supposed to ___, but ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

Am Anfang war ich wegen ___ nervös.

I was nervous about ___ at first.