Re: [tied] Re: Latin - English derivatives, German

>The Perfekt has
>taken on the functions of Präteritum, ....If you do hear Päteritum of other
>verbs in spoken German, it would be to express an action in
>process, similar to the English continuous tenses.

I believe there are dialect differences here. In the South, the preterite
is hardly ever used, outside a few verbs, while in the north-west, in formal
contexts, it is quite regular in speech. It is restricted in the
north-east, but not as much as in the south. (See page 162 dtv-Atlas zur
deutschen Sprache)

Peter