Deutsch · A2 · grammar · 4 minutes
Haben or sein in the perfect
Select sein for common intransitive changes of place/state and haben for most other verbs.
Understand the choice
Auxiliary choice is lexical and semantic, not a translation of English have/be. Compare ankommen with sein because the subject changes location, and anrufen with haben because it takes an object.
Core rule: Most verbs form the perfect with haben; sein is used by sein, bleiben, werden, and many intransitive verbs of change of place or state.
Notice it in context
Wir sind angekommen und haben sofort das Hotel angerufen.
We arrived and immediately called the hotel.
Sind…angekommen uses sein for arrival; haben…angerufen uses haben for a transitive call.
Das Kind ist schnell eingeschlafen.
The child fell asleep quickly.
Einschlafen is a change of state and selects ist.
Die Eltern haben das Licht ausgeschaltet.
The parents switched off the light.
Transitive ausschalten selects haben and an object.
What to remember
- Bleiben uses sein despite no physical movement: ich bin geblieben.
- Regional southern usage selects sein with a few activity verbs more often than northern standard usage.
Common trap: Do not choose sein for every verb involving travel objects; ich habe das Auto gefahren can mean I drove the car transitively.