“Gehen” – Conjugation of the German Verb

German verbs can be quite complex, especially when it comes to their conjugation. One such verb that undergoes various changes based on tense, mood, and person is “gehen”, which means “to go” in English. Let's look into how this verb is conjugated across different grammatical tenses.

 

Present Tense

In the present tense, the verb “gehen” changes according to the subject. Here's how it conjugates:

– Ich gehe (I go)
– Du gehst (You go – informal singular)
– Er/sie/es geht (He/she/it goes)
– Wir gehen (We go)
– Ihr geht (You go – informal plural)
– Sie gehen (They go/formal you go)

 

Past Tense (Imperfekt/Präteritum)

In the past tense, “gehen” takes different forms as well:

– Ich ging (I went)
– Du gingst (You went – informal singular)
– Er/sie/es ging (He/she/it went)
– Wir gingen (We went)
– Ihr gingt (You went – informal plural)
– Sie gingen (They went/formal you went)

 

Present Perfect (Perfekt)

The present perfect tense in German is formed with the auxiliary verb “haben” (to have) or “sein” (to be) and the past participle of the main verb “gehen”. For “gehen”, we use “sein”.

– Ich bin gegangen (I have gone)
– Du bist gegangen (You have gone – informal singular)
– Er/sie/es ist gegangen (He/she/it has gone)
– Wir sind gegangen (We have gone)
– Ihr seid gegangen (You have gone – informal plural)
– Sie sind gegangen (They have gone/formal you have gone)

 

Past Perfect (Plusquamperfekt)

The past perfect tense, also known as the pluperfect, is formed similarly to the present perfect but using the past tense of “haben” or “sein” along with the past participle of “gehen”.

– Ich war gegangen (I had gone)
– Du warst gegangen (You had gone – informal singular)
– Er/sie/es war gegangen (He/she/it had gone)
– Wir waren gegangen (We had gone)
– Ihr wart gegangen (You had gone – informal plural)
– Sie waren gegangen (They had gone/formal you had gone)

 

Future Tense (Futur I)

The future tense in German is formed with the present tense of “werden” (to become) and the infinitive of the main verb.

– Ich werde gehen (I will go)
– Du wirst gehen (You will go – informal singular)
– Er/sie/es wird gehen (He/she/it will go)
– Wir werden gehen (We will go)
– Ihr werdet gehen (You will go – informal plural)
– Sie werden gehen (They will go/formal you will go)

 

Conditional (Konjunktiv II)

The conditional tense in German is formed with the past tense of “werden” and the infinitive of the main verb.

– Ich würde gehen (I would go)
– Du würdest gehen (You would go – informal singular)
– Er/sie/es würde gehen (He/she/it would go)
– Wir würden gehen (We would go)
– Ihr würdet gehen (You would go – informal plural)
– Sie würden gehen (They would go/formal you would go)