German Phrase
Letzten Sommer sind wir zelten gegangen.
Meaning
The sentence tells the listener that last summer the speakers went camping. It uses the perfect tense with the auxiliary "sein" and the colloquial verb phrase "zelten gehen" to describe a past leisure activity.
When to use
Use this phrase when you are recounting a summer vacation, describing a camping trip, or answering a question about what you did last summer.
✦Grammar Breakdown
LetztenSommersindwirzeltengegangen
Temporal Accusative
"Letzten Sommer" uses the accusative case to indicate a point in time without a preposition.
Auxiliary "sein"
The perfect tense of motion verbs like "gehen" uses "sein" as the auxiliary.
Verb‑Complement "zelten"
"zelten" functions as an infinitive complement after "gehen" ("zelten gehen" = to go camping).
Past Participle
"gegangen" is the past participle of "gehen" and appears at the end of the clause.
Subject‑Verb Order
In perfect tense clauses the auxiliary verb comes right after the temporal phrase, followed by the subject.
🗨In Conversation
Was habt ihr letzten Sommer gemacht?
What did you do last summer?
Letzten Sommer sind wir zelten gegangen.
Last summer we went camping.
✕Common Mistakes
Letzten Sommer haben wir zelten gegangen.
The verb "gehen" forms the perfect tense with "sein", not "haben".
Letzten Sommer wir sind zelten gegangen.
The auxiliary verb must directly follow the temporal phrase; the subject comes after the auxiliary.
Letzten Sommer sind wir zelten gegangen haben.
Do not add an extra auxiliary; "gegangen" already completes the perfect tense.
↔Alternatives
Letzten Sommer haben wir gezeltet.
We camped last summer.
Im letzten Sommer haben wir einen Campingausflug gemacht.
We took a camping trip last summer.
Letzten Sommer haben wir im Zelt übernachtet.
Last summer we spent the night in a tent.
Cultural Tip
In everyday German "zelten gehen" is a casual way to say "to go camping". In more formal writing you might prefer "zelteten" or "campen". Also remember that time expressions like "letzten Sommer" take the accusative case, which is a common source of errors for learners.