You already know the Perfekt — Ich habe Kaffee getrunken. Wir sind nach Hause gefahren. — the everyday past tense of spoken German.

German has a second past tense, the Präteritum (simple past): one word, like English I was, I had. Books and newspapers use it for almost every verb. In conversation, most verbs stay in the Perfekt — with one big exception: sein and haben usually go into the Präteritum, even in a chat.

• Ich war gestern im Kino. — I was at the cinema yesterday.
• Wir hatten keine Zeit. — We had no time.

Ich bin gestern im Kino gewesen is correct too, and you'll hear it a lot in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland. But war and hatte are understood — and used — everywhere.