vergehen — German conjugation
to pass (time)
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 | vergehe | I pass |
| du | vergehst | you pass |
| er/sie/es | vergeht | he/she/it passes |
| wir | vergehen | we pass |
| ihr | vergeht | you (pl.) pass |
| sie/Sie | vergehen | they pass |
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 | verging | I passed |
| du | vergingst | you passed |
| er/sie/es | verging | he/she/it passed |
| wir | vergingen | we passed |
| ihr | vergingt | you (pl.) passed |
| sie/Sie | vergingen | they passed |
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 vergangen | I have passed |
| du | bist vergangen | you have passed |
| er/sie/es | ist vergangen | he/she/it has passed |
| wir | sind vergangen | we have passed |
| ihr | seid vergangen | you (pl.) have passed |
| sie/Sie | sind vergangen | they have passed |
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 vergangen | I had passed |
| du | warst vergangen | you had passed |
| er/sie/es | war vergangen | he/she/it had passed |
| wir | waren vergangen | we had passed |
| ihr | wart vergangen | you (pl.) had passed |
| sie/Sie | waren vergangen | they had passed |
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 vergehen | I will pass |
| du | wirst vergehen | you will pass |
| er/sie/es | wird vergehen | he/she/it will pass |
| wir | werden vergehen | we will pass |
| ihr | werdet vergehen | you (pl.) will pass |
| sie/Sie | werden vergehen | they will pass |
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 vergangen sein | I will have passed |
| du | wirst vergangen sein | you will have passed |
| er/sie/es | wird vergangen sein | he/she/it will have passed |
| wir | werden vergangen sein | we will have passed |
| ihr | werdet vergangen sein | you (pl.) will have passed |
| sie/Sie | werden vergangen sein | they will have passed |
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 | verginge |
| du | vergingest |
| er/sie/es | verginge |
| wir | vergingen |
| ihr | verginget |
| sie/Sie | vergingen |
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 | vergehe |
| ihr | vergeht |