vorbeikommen — German conjugation
to come 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 | komme vorbei | I come by |
| du | kommst vorbei | you come by |
| er/sie/es | kommt vorbei | he/she/it comes by |
| wir | kommen vorbei | we come by |
| ihr | kommt vorbei | you (pl.) come by |
| sie/Sie | kommen vorbei | they come 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 | kam vorbei | I came by |
| du | kamst vorbei | you came by |
| er/sie/es | kam vorbei | he/she/it came by |
| wir | kamen vorbei | we came by |
| ihr | kamt vorbei | you (pl.) came by |
| sie/Sie | kamen vorbei | they came 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 vorbeigekommen | I have come by |
| du | bist vorbeigekommen | you have come by |
| er/sie/es | ist vorbeigekommen | he/she/it has come by |
| wir | sind vorbeigekommen | we have come by |
| ihr | seid vorbeigekommen | you (pl.) have come by |
| sie/Sie | sind vorbeigekommen | they have come 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 vorbeigekommen | I had come by |
| du | warst vorbeigekommen | you had come by |
| er/sie/es | war vorbeigekommen | he/she/it had come by |
| wir | waren vorbeigekommen | we had come by |
| ihr | wart vorbeigekommen | you (pl.) had come by |
| sie/Sie | waren vorbeigekommen | they had come 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 vorbeikommen | I will come by |
| du | wirst vorbeikommen | you will come by |
| er/sie/es | wird vorbeikommen | he/she/it will come by |
| wir | werden vorbeikommen | we will come by |
| ihr | werdet vorbeikommen | you (pl.) will come by |
| sie/Sie | werden vorbeikommen | they will come 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 vorbeigekommen sein | I will have come by |
| du | wirst vorbeigekommen sein | you will have come by |
| er/sie/es | wird vorbeigekommen sein | he/she/it will have come by |
| wir | werden vorbeigekommen sein | we will have come by |
| ihr | werdet vorbeigekommen sein | you (pl.) will have come by |
| sie/Sie | werden vorbeigekommen sein | they will have come 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 | käme vorbei |
| du | kämest vorbei |
| er/sie/es | käme vorbei |
| wir | kämen vorbei |
| ihr | kämet vorbei |
| sie/Sie | kämen 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 | komme vorbei |
| ihr | kommt vorbei |