gelingen — German conjugation
to succeed
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 | gelinge | I succeed |
| du | gelingst | you succeed |
| er/sie/es | gelingt | he/she/it succeeds |
| wir | gelingen | we succeed |
| ihr | gelingt | you (pl.) succeed |
| sie/Sie | gelingen | they succeed |
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 | gelang | I succeeded |
| du | gelangst | you succeeded |
| er/sie/es | gelang | he/she/it succeeded |
| wir | gelangen | we succeeded |
| ihr | gelangt | you (pl.) succeeded |
| sie/Sie | gelangen | they succeeded |
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 gelungen | I have succeeded |
| du | bist gelungen | you have succeeded |
| er/sie/es | ist gelungen | he/she/it has succeeded |
| wir | sind gelungen | we have succeeded |
| ihr | seid gelungen | you (pl.) have succeeded |
| sie/Sie | sind gelungen | they have succeeded |
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 gelungen | I had succeeded |
| du | warst gelungen | you had succeeded |
| er/sie/es | war gelungen | he/she/it had succeeded |
| wir | waren gelungen | we had succeeded |
| ihr | wart gelungen | you (pl.) had succeeded |
| sie/Sie | waren gelungen | they had succeeded |
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 gelingen | I will succeed |
| du | wirst gelingen | you will succeed |
| er/sie/es | wird gelingen | he/she/it will succeed |
| wir | werden gelingen | we will succeed |
| ihr | werdet gelingen | you (pl.) will succeed |
| sie/Sie | werden gelingen | they will succeed |
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 gelungen sein | I will have succeeded |
| du | wirst gelungen sein | you will have succeeded |
| er/sie/es | wird gelungen sein | he/she/it will have succeeded |
| wir | werden gelungen sein | we will have succeeded |
| ihr | werdet gelungen sein | you (pl.) will have succeeded |
| sie/Sie | werden gelungen sein | they will have succeeded |
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 | gelänge |
| du | gelängest |
| er/sie/es | gelänge |
| wir | gelängen |
| ihr | gelänget |
| sie/Sie | gelängen |
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 | gelinge |
| ihr | gelingt |