begegnen — German conjugation
to encounter
Indicative
Present (Präsens) Regular
Präsens is the default present for facts, habits, and near-future plans. German has no continuous aspect in the same way as English, so a single form often covers both “I work” and “I am working” when you add a time adverb or context.
Ich arbeite heute im Homeoffice.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | begegne | I encounter |
| du | begegnest | you encounter |
| er/sie/es | begegnet | he/she/it encounters |
| wir | begegnen | we encounter |
| ihr | begegnet | you (pl.) encounter |
| sie/Sie | begegnen | they encounter |
Simple past (Präteritum) Regular
Präteritum is a narrative past, common in print and in northern speech, while southern speakers lean on the perfect in conversation. sein and haben keep their Präteritum even when you otherwise avoid the preterite.
Er war müde, aber er hatte keinen Kaffee mehr.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | begegnete | I encountered |
| du | begegnetest | you encountered |
| er/sie/es | begegnete | he/she/it encountered |
| wir | begegneten | we encountered |
| ihr | begegnetet | you (pl.) encountered |
| sie/Sie | begegneten | they encountered |
Present perfect (Perfekt) Regular
The Perfekt is the everyday past for finished events: auxiliary haben or sein plus participle, with sein for most motion, coming/going, and some change-of-state verbs.
Wir sind rechtzeitig angekommen und haben gefeiert.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | bin begegnet | I have encountered |
| du | bist begegnet | you have encountered |
| er/sie/es | ist begegnet | he/she/it has encountered |
| wir | sind begegnet | we have encountered |
| ihr | seid begegnet | you (pl.) have encountered |
| sie/Sie | sind begegnet | they have encountered |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) Regular
The Plusquamperfekt is the pluperfect: it marks what had already completed before a later past episode in the same narrative.
Sie war schon gegangen, bevor er ankam.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | war begegnet | I had encountered |
| du | warst begegnet | you had encountered |
| er/sie/es | war begegnet | he/she/it had encountered |
| wir | waren begegnet | we had encountered |
| ihr | wart begegnet | you (pl.) had encountered |
| sie/Sie | waren begegnet | they had encountered |
Future I (Futur I) Regular
Futur I is for predictions, firm promises, and also probability about the present in colloquial German. Everyday speech very often uses Präsens plus a time expression instead.
Morgen schneit es, sagt der Wetterbericht.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde begegnen | I will encounter |
| du | wirst begegnen | you will encounter |
| er/sie/es | wird begegnen | he/she/it will encounter |
| wir | werden begegnen | we will encounter |
| ihr | werdet begegnen | you (pl.) will encounter |
| sie/Sie | werden begegnen | they will encounter |
Future II (Futur II) Regular
Futur II (werden + participle + haben/sein) names an action that will be completed before a later time, and can also express a guess that something must already have happened.
Bis Freitag werde ich alles gepackt haben.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde begegnet sein | I will have encountered |
| du | wirst begegnet sein | you will have encountered |
| er/sie/es | wird begegnet sein | he/she/it will have encountered |
| wir | werden begegnet sein | we will have encountered |
| ihr | werdet begegnet sein | you (pl.) will have encountered |
| sie/Sie | werden begegnet sein | they will have encountered |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) Regular
Konjunktiv II is the mood for politeness, contrary-to-fact if-clauses, and reported views. In speech, würde + infinitive often stands in for rarer preterit-based forms.
Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen?
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| ich | begegnete |
| du | begegnetest |
| er/sie/es | begegnete |
| wir | begegneten |
| ihr | begegnetet |
| sie/Sie | begegneten |
Other forms
Imperative (Imperativ) Regular
The imperative uses the du, ihr, and Sie forms of command; the informal du form drops the -st of the present for many strong verbs, and separable-prefix verbs place the prefix at the end.
Mach bitte schnell, der Zug fährt gleich ab.
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| du | begegne |
| ihr | begegnet |