vorbeigehen — German conjugation
to pass by
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 | gehe vorbei | I pass by |
| du | gehst vorbei | you pass by |
| er/sie/es | geht vorbei | he/she/it passes by |
| wir | gehen vorbei | we pass by |
| ihr | geht vorbei | you (pl.) pass by |
| sie/Sie | gehen vorbei | they pass by |
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 | ging vorbei | I passed by |
| du | gingst vorbei | you passed by |
| er/sie/es | ging vorbei | he/she/it passed by |
| wir | gingen vorbei | we passed by |
| ihr | gingt vorbei | you (pl.) passed by |
| sie/Sie | gingen vorbei | they passed by |
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 vorbeigegangen | I have passed by |
| du | bist vorbeigegangen | you have passed by |
| er/sie/es | ist vorbeigegangen | he/she/it has passed by |
| wir | sind vorbeigegangen | we have passed by |
| ihr | seid vorbeigegangen | you (pl.) have passed by |
| sie/Sie | sind vorbeigegangen | they have passed by |
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 vorbeigegangen | I had passed by |
| du | warst vorbeigegangen | you had passed by |
| er/sie/es | war vorbeigegangen | he/she/it had passed by |
| wir | waren vorbeigegangen | we had passed by |
| ihr | wart vorbeigegangen | you (pl.) had passed by |
| sie/Sie | waren vorbeigegangen | they had passed by |
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 vorbeigehen | I will pass by |
| du | wirst vorbeigehen | you will pass by |
| er/sie/es | wird vorbeigehen | he/she/it will pass by |
| wir | werden vorbeigehen | we will pass by |
| ihr | werdet vorbeigehen | you (pl.) will pass by |
| sie/Sie | werden vorbeigehen | they will pass by |
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 vorbeigegangen sein | I will have passed by |
| du | wirst vorbeigegangen sein | you will have passed by |
| er/sie/es | wird vorbeigegangen sein | he/she/it will have passed by |
| wir | werden vorbeigegangen sein | we will have passed by |
| ihr | werdet vorbeigegangen sein | you (pl.) will have passed by |
| sie/Sie | werden vorbeigegangen sein | they will have passed by |
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 | ginge vorbei |
| du | gingest vorbei |
| er/sie/es | ginge vorbei |
| wir | gingen vorbei |
| ihr | ginget vorbei |
| sie/Sie | gingen vorbei |
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 | gehe vorbei |
| ihr | geht vorbei |