fortlaufen — German conjugation
to run away
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 | laufe fort | I run away |
| du | läufst fort | you run away |
| er/sie/es | läuft fort | he/she/it runs away |
| wir | laufen fort | we run away |
| ihr | lauft fort | you (pl.) run away |
| sie/Sie | laufen fort | they run away |
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 | lief fort | I ran away |
| du | liefst fort | you ran away |
| er/sie/es | lief fort | he/she/it ran away |
| wir | liefen fort | we ran away |
| ihr | lieft fort | you (pl.) ran away |
| sie/Sie | liefen fort | they ran away |
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 fortgelaufen | I have run away |
| du | bist fortgelaufen | you have run away |
| er/sie/es | ist fortgelaufen | he/she/it has run away |
| wir | sind fortgelaufen | we have run away |
| ihr | seid fortgelaufen | you (pl.) have run away |
| sie/Sie | sind fortgelaufen | they have run away |
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 fortgelaufen | I had run away |
| du | warst fortgelaufen | you had run away |
| er/sie/es | war fortgelaufen | he/she/it had run away |
| wir | waren fortgelaufen | we had run away |
| ihr | wart fortgelaufen | you (pl.) had run away |
| sie/Sie | waren fortgelaufen | they had run away |
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 fortlaufen | I will run away |
| du | wirst fortlaufen | you will run away |
| er/sie/es | wird fortlaufen | he/she/it will run away |
| wir | werden fortlaufen | we will run away |
| ihr | werdet fortlaufen | you (pl.) will run away |
| sie/Sie | werden fortlaufen | they will run away |
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 fortgelaufen sein | I will have run away |
| du | wirst fortgelaufen sein | you will have run away |
| er/sie/es | wird fortgelaufen sein | he/she/it will have run away |
| wir | werden fortgelaufen sein | we will have run away |
| ihr | werdet fortgelaufen sein | you (pl.) will have run away |
| sie/Sie | werden fortgelaufen sein | they will have run away |
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 | liefe fort |
| du | liefest fort |
| er/sie/es | liefe fort |
| wir | liefen fort |
| ihr | liefet fort |
| sie/Sie | liefen 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 | laufe fort |
| ihr | lauft fort |