klarkommen — German conjugation
to cope (with)
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 klar | I cope |
| du | kommst klar | you cope |
| er/sie/es | kommt klar | he/she/it copes |
| wir | kommen klar | we cope |
| ihr | kommt klar | you (pl.) cope |
| sie/Sie | kommen klar | they cope |
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 klar | I coped |
| du | kamst klar | you coped |
| er/sie/es | kam klar | he/she/it coped |
| wir | kamen klar | we coped |
| ihr | kamt klar | you (pl.) coped |
| sie/Sie | kamen klar | they coped |
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 klargekommen | I have coped |
| du | bist klargekommen | you have coped |
| er/sie/es | ist klargekommen | he/she/it has coped |
| wir | sind klargekommen | we have coped |
| ihr | seid klargekommen | you (pl.) have coped |
| sie/Sie | sind klargekommen | they have coped |
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 klargekommen | I had coped |
| du | warst klargekommen | you had coped |
| er/sie/es | war klargekommen | he/she/it had coped |
| wir | waren klargekommen | we had coped |
| ihr | wart klargekommen | you (pl.) had coped |
| sie/Sie | waren klargekommen | they had coped |
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 klarkommen | I will cope |
| du | wirst klarkommen | you will cope |
| er/sie/es | wird klarkommen | he/she/it will cope |
| wir | werden klarkommen | we will cope |
| ihr | werdet klarkommen | you (pl.) will cope |
| sie/Sie | werden klarkommen | they will cope |
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 klargekommen sein | I will have coped |
| du | wirst klargekommen sein | you will have coped |
| er/sie/es | wird klargekommen sein | he/she/it will have coped |
| wir | werden klargekommen sein | we will have coped |
| ihr | werdet klargekommen sein | you (pl.) will have coped |
| sie/Sie | werden klargekommen sein | they will have coped |
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 klar |
| du | kämest klar |
| er/sie/es | käme klar |
| wir | kämen klar |
| ihr | kämet klar |
| sie/Sie | kämen klar |
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 klar |
| ihr | kommt klar |