Kommen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Kommen means “to come”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for kommen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with kommen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich komme aus Berlin.” — “I come from Berlin.”
  2. “Du kommst morgen früh.” — “You come tomorrow morning.”
  3. “Ich bin heute Abend mit uns gekommen.” — “I have come with us this evening.”
  4. “Er kam aus Berlin.” — “He came from Berlin.”
  5. “Wir werden morgen früh kommen.” — “We will come tomorrow morning.”
  6. “Du bist heute Abend mit uns gekommen.” — “You have come with us this evening.”
  7. “Ich käme aus Berlin.” — “I would come from Berlin.”
  8. “Er komme morgen früh.” — “He comes tomorrow morning.”
  9. “Wir waren heute Abend mit uns gekommen.” — “We had come with us this evening.”
  10. “Er wird aus Berlin kommen.” — “He will come from Berlin.”
  11. “Sie kommen morgen früh.” — “They come tomorrow morning.”
  12. “Komm heute Abend mit uns!” — “Come with us this evening!”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about from Berlin. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how kommen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of kommen below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Kommst du aus Berlin?” — “You come from Berlin?” Jonas: “Ich komme aus Berlin.” — “I come from Berlin.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde morgen früh kommen.” — “I will come tomorrow morning.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich bin heute Abend mit uns gekommen.” — “I have come with us this evening.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich käme aus Berlin.” — “I would come from Berlin.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Kommen in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of kommen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, kommen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is komme: “Ich komme aus Berlin.” — “I come from Berlin.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, kommen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is kam: “Er kam morgen früh.” — “He came tomorrow morning.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, kommen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with sein plus the participle gekommen. The ich form is bin gekommen: “Ich bin heute Abend mit uns gekommen.” — “I have come with us this evening.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, kommen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden kommen: “Wir werden aus Berlin kommen.” — “We will come from Berlin.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, kommen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is kämest: “Du kämest morgen früh.” — “You would come tomorrow morning.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, kommen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is komme: “Er komme heute Abend mit uns.” — “He comes with us this evening.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich kommen aus Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Ich komme aus Berlin.”

The infinitive kommen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form komme.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du komme aus Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Du kommst aus Berlin.”

komme is the ich form. With du you need kommst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich komme aus Berlin gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin aus Berlin gekommen.”

The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt bin gekommen, not the present.

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich komme aus Berlin.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich komme aus Berlin.” (quoted as reported speech)

In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: komme, not the indicative komme.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gekommen aus Berlin.”

✓ Right: “Ich bin aus Berlin gekommen.”

The Perfekt of kommen needs the auxiliary sein plus the participle gekommen: the full ich form is bin gekommen.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on kommen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the ich form of kommen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) kommst
    • B) kommt
    • C) kommen
    • D) komme

  2. What is the du form of kommen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) kommen
    • B) kommst
    • C) komme
    • D) kommt

  3. What is the er/sie/es form of kommen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) sind gekommen
    • B) ist gekommen
    • C) bin gekommen
    • D) bist gekommen

  4. What is the wir form of kommen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) kamen
    • B) kam
    • C) kamst
    • D) kamt

  5. What is the du form of kommen in the Future (Futur I)?

    • A) wirst kommen
    • B) werde kommen
    • C) wird kommen
    • D) werden kommen

  6. What is the ich form of kommen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?

    • A) kämest
    • B) kämen
    • C) kämet
    • D) käme

  7. What is the er/sie/es form of kommen in the Konjunktiv I?

    • A) kommest
    • B) kommen
    • C) kommet
    • D) komme

  8. What is the ich form of kommen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

    • A) warst gekommen
    • B) waren gekommen
    • C) wart gekommen
    • D) war gekommen

  9. What is the past participle of kommen?

    • A) gegeben
    • B) gekommen
    • C) gesagt
    • D) gemacht

  10. What does kommen mean in English?

  • A) to give
  • B) to come
  • C) to say
  • D) to make, to do

Answer key

  1. D) komme — the ich form of kommen in the Present (Präsens) is komme. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. B) kommst — the du form of kommen in the Present (Präsens) is kommst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. B) ist gekommen — the er/sie/es form of kommen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is ist gekommen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) kamen — the wir form of kommen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is kamen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. A) wirst kommen — the du form of kommen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst kommen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. D) käme — the ich form of kommen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is käme. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) komme — the er/sie/es form of kommen in the Konjunktiv I is komme. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. D) war gekommen — the ich form of kommen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is war gekommen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) gekommen — the past participle of kommen is gekommen. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. B) to come — kommen means “to come” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does kommen mean in English?

kommen means “to come”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is kommen regular or irregular?

kommen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is kommend and the past participle is gekommen.

How do I practise kommen every day?

Say one sentence with kommen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich komme aus Berlin.”, “Ich bin aus Berlin gekommen.” and “Ich werde aus Berlin kommen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for kommen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages