fortgehen — German conjugation
to leave
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 | gehe fort | I leave |
| du | gehst fort | you leave |
| er/sie/es | geht fort | he/she/it leaves |
| wir | gehen fort | we leave |
| ihr | geht fort | you (pl.) leave |
| sie/Sie | gehen fort | they leave |
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 | ging fort | I left |
| du | gingst fort | you left |
| er/sie/es | ging fort | he/she/it left |
| wir | gingen fort | we left |
| ihr | gingt fort | you (pl.) left |
| sie/Sie | gingen fort | they left |
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 fortgegangen | I have left |
| du | bist fortgegangen | you have left |
| er/sie/es | ist fortgegangen | he/she/it has left |
| wir | sind fortgegangen | we have left |
| ihr | seid fortgegangen | you (pl.) have left |
| sie/Sie | sind fortgegangen | they have left |
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 fortgegangen | I had left |
| du | warst fortgegangen | you had left |
| er/sie/es | war fortgegangen | he/she/it had left |
| wir | waren fortgegangen | we had left |
| ihr | wart fortgegangen | you (pl.) had left |
| sie/Sie | waren fortgegangen | they had left |
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 fortgehen | I will leave |
| du | wirst fortgehen | you will leave |
| er/sie/es | wird fortgehen | he/she/it will leave |
| wir | werden fortgehen | we will leave |
| ihr | werdet fortgehen | you (pl.) will leave |
| sie/Sie | werden fortgehen | they will leave |
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 fortgegangen sein | I will have left |
| du | wirst fortgegangen sein | you will have left |
| er/sie/es | wird fortgegangen sein | he/she/it will have left |
| wir | werden fortgegangen sein | we will have left |
| ihr | werdet fortgegangen sein | you (pl.) will have left |
| sie/Sie | werden fortgegangen sein | they will have left |
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 | ginge fort |
| du | gingest fort |
| er/sie/es | ginge fort |
| wir | gingen fort |
| ihr | ginget fort |
| sie/Sie | gingen fort |
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 | gehe fort |
| ihr | geht fort |