Abfahren in the Perfekt Tense in German
Introduction
Abfahren means “to depart”, and this page covers exactly one thing: abfahren in the Perfekt. The Perfekt is the tense German speakers reach for in everyday speech when they talk about completed actions in the past — what happened yesterday, last week, or a moment ago. On this page you will find the full Perfekt table for abfahren, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about abfahren in the Perfekt. For example: “Ich bin um acht Uhr abgefahren gestern.” — “I have departed at eight o'clock yesterday.” Everything on this page uses the forms of abfahren exactly as they are conjugated in the Perfekt, so you can trust every form you see here.
Abfahren in the Perfekt Tense — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | bin abgefahren |
| du | bist abgefahren |
| er/sie/es | ist abgefahren |
| wir | sind abgefahren |
| ihr | seid abgefahren |
| sie/Sie | sind abgefahren |
Partizip I: abfahrend · Partizip II: abgefahren
The present participle is abfahrend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is abgefahren, which you use with sein in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is bin abgefahren, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the Perfekt is only one part of how abfahren is used.
How the Perfekt of abfahren is formed
The Perfekt of abfahren is formed with the auxiliary sein in the present plus the past participle abgefahren: the auxiliary forms are ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie/Sie sind. Put the two parts together and you get the table above — for example, the ich form is bin abgefahren and the sie form is sind abgefahren. The participle abgefahren never changes its spelling in this table: the verified dump gives the participle in the uninflected form throughout, and agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence.
Because abfahren takes sein as its auxiliary, it belongs to the group of verbs of movement and change of state that form their perfect tenses with sein. That is the first thing to check whenever you build a perfect tense with this verb: reach for sein, not haben, and then add abgefahren.
The same participle abgefahren appears in the pluperfect, the future perfect and the conditional perfect — only the auxiliary changes tense. Learn the pair “sein + abgefahren” once and you have the key to all four perfect tenses of abfahren.
When to use the Perfekt of abfahren
The Perfekt is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use abfahren in the Perfekt most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. Departing at eight o'clock — finished
When the action of departing at eight o'clock is finished, the Perfekt is the tense to use. It presents the action as complete, with a clear end. Example: “Ich bin um acht Uhr abgefahren gestern.” — “I have departed at eight o'clock yesterday.”
2. Departing on time in the morning — finished
The same rule applies to departing on time in the morning: once the action is done, the Perfekt reports it as a completed fact. Example: “Du bist pünktlich am Morgen abgefahren gestern.” — “You have departed on time in the morning yesterday.”
3. Departing by train to Berlin — finished
A third everyday situation is departing by train to Berlin, and again the Perfekt is right when the action is finished. Example: “Er ist mit dem Zug nach Berlin abgefahren gestern.” — “He has departed by train to Berlin yesterday.”
4. A sequence of completed actions
The Perfekt is the tense of the story told step by step: first this happened, then that happened. When you tell someone what you did yesterday, you chain Perfekt forms together, one per finished action. Example: “Wir sind um acht Uhr abgefahren gestern.” — “We have departed at eight o'clock yesterday.”
5. Recent past and life experience
The Perfekt also covers the recent past and things that have happened at some point in your life. With time words such as gestern, letzte Woche or heute Morgen, the Perfekt is the natural choice. Example: “Ihr seid pünktlich am Morgen abgefahren gestern.” — “You have departed on time in the morning yesterday.”
Perfekt vs Preterite: how to choose
The closest tense to the Perfekt is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories, while the Perfekt describes one finished action in everyday speech. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the Perfekt sentences use words such as jeden Tag or gestern, while the preterite sentences belong to a story told in the past. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.
Perfekt: “Ich bin um acht Uhr abgefahren gestern.” — “I have departed at eight o'clock yesterday.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich fuhr um acht Uhr ab gestern.” — “I departed at eight o'clock yesterday.”
The Perfekt sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.
Perfekt: “Du bist pünktlich am Morgen abgefahren gestern.” — “You have departed on time in the morning yesterday.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Du fuhrst pünktlich am Morgen ab gestern.” — “You departed on time in the morning yesterday.”
The Perfekt sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.
Perfekt: “Wir sind mit dem Zug nach Berlin abgefahren gestern.” — “We have departed by train to Berlin yesterday.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir fuhren mit dem Zug nach Berlin ab gestern.” — “We departed by train to Berlin yesterday.”
The Perfekt sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.
Example sentences: abfahren in the Perfekt
Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.
“Ich bin pünktlich am Morgen abgefahren gestern.” — “I have departed on time in the morning yesterday.”
“Du bist mit dem Zug nach Berlin abgefahren gestern.” — “You have departed by train to Berlin yesterday.”
“Er ist um acht Uhr abgefahren gestern.” — “He has departed at eight o'clock yesterday.”
“Wir sind pünktlich am Morgen abgefahren gestern.” — “We have departed on time in the morning yesterday.”
“Ihr seid mit dem Zug nach Berlin abgefahren gestern.” — “You have departed by train to Berlin yesterday.”
“Sie sind um acht Uhr abgefahren gestern.” — “They have departed at eight o'clock yesterday.”
“Ich bin pünktlich am Morgen abgefahren gestern.” — “I have departed on time in the morning yesterday.”
“Du bist mit dem Zug nach Berlin abgefahren gestern.” — “You have departed by train to Berlin yesterday.”
Common mistakes with abfahren in the Perfekt
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Ich fahre ab um acht Uhr gestern.” Right: “Ich bin um acht Uhr abgefahren gestern.” Why: For one finished action yesterday, use the Perfekt bin abgefahren, not the present fahre ab. The time word gestern points to the past.
Wrong: “Ich bin um acht Uhr abgefahren jeden Tag.” (said of a daily habit) Right: “Ich fahre ab um acht Uhr jeden Tag.” Why: The Perfekt bin abgefahren describes one finished action. For something you do every day, use the present fahre ab.
Wrong: “Ich um acht Uhr abgefahren.” — leaving out the auxiliary Right: “Ich bin um acht Uhr abgefahren.” Why: The Perfekt needs both parts: the auxiliary sein and the participle abgefahren. The participle alone is not a complete Perfekt.
Wrong: “Ich fuhr ab um acht Uhr gestern.” (in everyday speech) Right: “Ich bin um acht Uhr abgefahren gestern.” Why: The preterite fuhr ab is mostly a written tense. In everyday speech, a finished action yesterday takes the Perfekt bin abgefahren.
Quiz: abfahren in the Perfekt
Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.
1. Complete the sentence: “Ich ______ pünktlich am Morgen.”
- (A) bin abgefahren
- (B) bist abgefahren
- (C) ist abgefahren
- (D) sind abgefahren
2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ mit dem Zug nach Berlin.”
- (A) bin abgefahren
- (B) ist abgefahren
- (C) sind abgefahren
- (D) bist abgefahren
3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ um acht Uhr.”
- (A) sind abgefahren
- (B) ist abgefahren
- (C) bin abgefahren
- (D) bist abgefahren
4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ pünktlich am Morgen.”
- (A) bin abgefahren
- (B) bist abgefahren
- (C) ist abgefahren
- (D) sind abgefahren
5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ mit dem Zug nach Berlin.”
- (A) seid abgefahren
- (B) bin abgefahren
- (C) bist abgefahren
- (D) ist abgefahren
6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ um acht Uhr.”
- (A) bin abgefahren
- (B) bist abgefahren
- (C) ist abgefahren
- (D) sind abgefahren
7. What does abfahren mean in English?
- (A) to change (trains, vehicles), to transfer
- (B) to depart
- (C) to get in
- (D) to get out
8. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of abfahren?
- (A) umgestiegen
- (B) abgefahren
- (C) eingestiegen
- (D) ausgestiegen
Answer key
- A) bin abgefahren — The ich form is bin abgefahren.
- D) bist abgefahren — The du form is bist abgefahren.
- B) ist abgefahren — The er/sie/es form is ist abgefahren.
- D) sind abgefahren — The wir form is sind abgefahren.
- A) seid abgefahren — The ihr form is seid abgefahren.
- D) sind abgefahren — The sie/Sie form is sind abgefahren.
- B) to depart — abfahren means “to depart”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
- B) abgefahren — The past participle of abfahren is abgefahren; the Perfekt is formed with sein + abgefahren.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Perfekt of abfahren formed?
With the auxiliary sein in the present plus the past participle abgefahren: ich bin abgefahren, du bist abgefahren, er ist abgefahren, wir sind abgefahren, ihr seid abgefahren, sie sind abgefahren.
When do I use the Perfekt of abfahren?
Use the Perfekt for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German — for example, “Ich bin um acht Uhr abgefahren gestern.” — “I have departed at eight o'clock yesterday.” For an ongoing or habitual past action, use the preterite in writing instead.
What is the difference between the Perfekt and the preterite of abfahren?
The Perfekt reports one finished action in everyday speech; the preterite reports a completed past action in writing and stories. Compare “Ich bin um acht Uhr abgefahren gestern.” with “Ich fuhr um acht Uhr ab gestern.” — the first is spoken, the second is written.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for abfahren, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of abfahren — every tense of abfahren in one place.
- Abfahren in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Abfahren examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Einsteigen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Aussteigen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Umsteigen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise abfahren with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise abfahren with the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise abfahren with the interactive tool.