fortkommen — German conjugation
to progress
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 | komme fort | I progress |
| du | kommst fort | you progress |
| er/sie/es | kommt fort | he/she/it progresses |
| wir | kommen fort | we progress |
| ihr | kommt fort | you (pl.) progress |
| sie/Sie | kommen fort | they progress |
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 | kam fort | I progressed |
| du | kamst fort | you progressed |
| er/sie/es | kam fort | he/she/it progressed |
| wir | kamen fort | we progressed |
| ihr | kamt fort | you (pl.) progressed |
| sie/Sie | kamen fort | they progressed |
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 fortgekommen | I have progressed |
| du | bist fortgekommen | you have progressed |
| er/sie/es | ist fortgekommen | he/she/it has progressed |
| wir | sind fortgekommen | we have progressed |
| ihr | seid fortgekommen | you (pl.) have progressed |
| sie/Sie | sind fortgekommen | they have progressed |
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 fortgekommen | I had progressed |
| du | warst fortgekommen | you had progressed |
| er/sie/es | war fortgekommen | he/she/it had progressed |
| wir | waren fortgekommen | we had progressed |
| ihr | wart fortgekommen | you (pl.) had progressed |
| sie/Sie | waren fortgekommen | they had progressed |
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 fortkommen | I will progress |
| du | wirst fortkommen | you will progress |
| er/sie/es | wird fortkommen | he/she/it will progress |
| wir | werden fortkommen | we will progress |
| ihr | werdet fortkommen | you (pl.) will progress |
| sie/Sie | werden fortkommen | they will progress |
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 fortgekommen sein | I will have progressed |
| du | wirst fortgekommen sein | you will have progressed |
| er/sie/es | wird fortgekommen sein | he/she/it will have progressed |
| wir | werden fortgekommen sein | we will have progressed |
| ihr | werdet fortgekommen sein | you (pl.) will have progressed |
| sie/Sie | werden fortgekommen sein | they will have progressed |
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 | käme fort |
| du | kämest fort |
| er/sie/es | käme fort |
| wir | kämen fort |
| ihr | kämet fort |
| sie/Sie | kämen 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 | komme fort |
| ihr | kommt fort |