hatte/war + Partizip II. Marks an event that happened before another past event - the same auxiliary choice (haben vs. sein) as Perfekt, just in the Präteritum form.
| Auxiliary | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| hatte + Partizip II | ich hatte gegessen | I had eaten |
| war + Partizip II | ich war gegangen | I had gone |
The auxiliary choice follows the same rule as Perfekt: sein for verbs of motion/state change (gehen, kommen, aufwachen), haben for most others.
Nachdem ich gegessen hatte, ging ich spazieren. (After I had eaten, I went for a walk.)
Nachdem sie angekommen war, rief sie mich an. (After she had arrived, she called me.)
Nachdem wir die Wohnung gefunden hatten, unterschrieben wir den Vertrag. (After we had found the apartment, we signed the contract.)
As a subordinating conjunction, nachdem sends the auxiliary to the end of its own clause.
Ich war müde, weil ich schlecht geschlafen hatte. (I was tired because I had slept badly.)
Aligned with standard Goethe-Zertifikat B1 / telc B1 exam syllabus topics.