fortschreiten — 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 | schreite fort | I progress |
| du | schreitest fort | you progress |
| er/sie/es | schreitet fort | he/she/it progresses |
| wir | schreiten fort | we progress |
| ihr | schreitet fort | you (pl.) progress |
| sie/Sie | schreiten 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 | schritt fort | I progressed |
| du | schrittest fort | you progressed |
| er/sie/es | schritt fort | he/she/it progressed |
| wir | schritten fort | we progressed |
| ihr | schrittet fort | you (pl.) progressed |
| sie/Sie | schritten 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 fortgeschritten | I have progressed |
| du | bist fortgeschritten | you have progressed |
| er/sie/es | ist fortgeschritten | he/she/it has progressed |
| wir | sind fortgeschritten | we have progressed |
| ihr | seid fortgeschritten | you (pl.) have progressed |
| sie/Sie | sind fortgeschritten | 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 fortgeschritten | I had progressed |
| du | warst fortgeschritten | you had progressed |
| er/sie/es | war fortgeschritten | he/she/it had progressed |
| wir | waren fortgeschritten | we had progressed |
| ihr | wart fortgeschritten | you (pl.) had progressed |
| sie/Sie | waren fortgeschritten | 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 fortschreiten | I will progress |
| du | wirst fortschreiten | you will progress |
| er/sie/es | wird fortschreiten | he/she/it will progress |
| wir | werden fortschreiten | we will progress |
| ihr | werdet fortschreiten | you (pl.) will progress |
| sie/Sie | werden fortschreiten | 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 fortgeschritten sein | I will have progressed |
| du | wirst fortgeschritten sein | you will have progressed |
| er/sie/es | wird fortgeschritten sein | he/she/it will have progressed |
| wir | werden fortgeschritten sein | we will have progressed |
| ihr | werdet fortgeschritten sein | you (pl.) will have progressed |
| sie/Sie | werden fortgeschritten 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 | schritte fort |
| du | schrittest fort |
| er/sie/es | schritte fort |
| wir | schritten fort |
| ihr | schrittet fort |
| sie/Sie | schritten 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 | schreite fort |
| ihr | schreitet fort |