entgehen — German conjugation
to escape
Indicative
Present (Präsens) Irregular
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 | entgehe | I escape |
| du | entgehst | you escape |
| er/sie/es | entgeht | he/she/it escapes |
| wir | entgehen | we escape |
| ihr | entgeht | you (pl.) escape |
| sie/Sie | entgehen | they escape |
Simple past (Präteritum) Irregular
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 | entging | I escaped |
| du | entgingst | you escaped |
| er/sie/es | entging | he/she/it escaped |
| wir | entgingen | we escaped |
| ihr | entgingt | you (pl.) escaped |
| sie/Sie | entgingen | they escaped |
Present perfect (Perfekt) Irregular
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 entgangen | I have escaped |
| du | bist entgangen | you have escaped |
| er/sie/es | ist entgangen | he/she/it has escaped |
| wir | sind entgangen | we have escaped |
| ihr | seid entgangen | you (pl.) have escaped |
| sie/Sie | sind entgangen | they have escaped |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) Irregular
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 entgangen | I had escaped |
| du | warst entgangen | you had escaped |
| er/sie/es | war entgangen | he/she/it had escaped |
| wir | waren entgangen | we had escaped |
| ihr | wart entgangen | you (pl.) had escaped |
| sie/Sie | waren entgangen | they had escaped |
Future I (Futur I) Irregular
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 entgehen | I will escape |
| du | wirst entgehen | you will escape |
| er/sie/es | wird entgehen | he/she/it will escape |
| wir | werden entgehen | we will escape |
| ihr | werdet entgehen | you (pl.) will escape |
| sie/Sie | werden entgehen | they will escape |
Future II (Futur II) Irregular
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 entgangen sein | I will have escaped |
| du | wirst entgangen sein | you will have escaped |
| er/sie/es | wird entgangen sein | he/she/it will have escaped |
| wir | werden entgangen sein | we will have escaped |
| ihr | werdet entgangen sein | you (pl.) will have escaped |
| sie/Sie | werden entgangen sein | they will have escaped |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) Irregular
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 | entginge |
| du | entgingest |
| er/sie/es | entginge |
| wir | entgingen |
| ihr | entginget |
| sie/Sie | entgingen |
Other forms
Imperative (Imperativ) Irregular
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 | entgehe |
| ihr | entgeht |