Talking about last week
Über letzte Woche sprechen
Describe a past week using was, worked and stayed, then contrast it with how you feel now.
Use war for was, habe gearbeitet for worked and bin geblieben for stayed. After an opening time phrase, the changed verb comes before ich. Jetzt geht es mir besser brings the story back to now. These phrases describe a fictional situation; they do not give health advice.
Letzte Woche war ich krank.
Last week I was ill.
Am Montag habe ich gearbeitet.
On Monday I worked.
Am Dienstag bin ich zu Hause geblieben.
On Tuesday I stayed at home.
Jetzt geht es mir besser.
Now I feel better.
Build on earlier past-tense examples: habe gearbeitet uses haben, but bin geblieben uses sein. Learn these combinations with their verbs. Do not use a movement-only rule to choose sein, because geblieben means stayed.
A short account can mention illness last week, work on Monday, staying home on Tuesday and feeling better now. The examples do not specify when the illness began or whether the person worked while ill.
After Letzte Woche put war before ich. Keep bin with geblieben and habe with gearbeitet in these models. Do not translate besser as completely well.
Past state: war. Past work: habe gearbeitet. Past stay: bin geblieben. Present change: jetzt ... besser.
Retell the fictional account in time order. Identify the changed verb and final past form where present. Use the familiar models rather than inventing a universal past-tense rule.