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