Kommen Conjugation in German
kommen means “to come” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 13 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You will meet it in everyday sentences such as “Ich komme aus Berlin.” — “I come from Berlin.” — and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of kommen — every tense, every person, the present participle and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: kommen
- English: to come
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Present participle (Partizip I): kommend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gekommen
- Auxiliary: sein (all perfect tenses are formed with sein + the past participle)
- Pattern: strong in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read kommen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about kommen
- It is irregular in 4 tense(s): present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use sein: the Perfekt is formed with sein in the present plus the past participle gekommen. The tables on this page give the participle in the form exactly as it appears in the verified dump; the participle itself does not change for person, only the auxiliary does.
- The participles are kommend and gekommen: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for kommen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the preterite, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present (Präsens)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | komme |
| du | kommst |
| er/sie/es | kommt |
| wir | kommen |
| ihr | kommt |
| sie/Sie | kommen |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With kommen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich komme morgen früh.” — “I come tomorrow morning.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | kam |
| du | kamst |
| er/sie/es | kam |
| wir | kamen |
| ihr | kamt |
| sie/Sie | kamen |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With kommen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du kamst morgen früh.” — “You came tomorrow morning.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | bin gekommen |
| du | bist gekommen |
| er/sie/es | ist gekommen |
| wir | sind gekommen |
| ihr | seid gekommen |
| sie/Sie | sind gekommen |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er ist morgen früh gekommen.” — “He has come tomorrow morning.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | war gekommen |
| du | warst gekommen |
| er/sie/es | war gekommen |
| wir | waren gekommen |
| ihr | wart gekommen |
| sie/Sie | waren gekommen |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Ich war morgen früh gekommen.” — “I had come tomorrow morning.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde kommen |
| du | wirst kommen |
| er/sie/es | wird kommen |
| wir | werden kommen |
| ihr | werdet kommen |
| sie/Sie | werden kommen |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for intentions. For example: “Ich werde morgen früh kommen.” — “I will come tomorrow morning.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gekommen sein |
| du | wirst gekommen sein |
| er/sie/es | wird gekommen sein |
| wir | werden gekommen sein |
| ihr | werdet gekommen sein |
| sie/Sie | werden gekommen sein |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst morgen früh gekommen sein.” — “You will have come tomorrow morning.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | komme |
| du | kommest |
| er/sie/es | komme |
| wir | kommen |
| ihr | kommet |
| sie/Sie | kommen |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech — reporting what someone else said — and in formal written German. For example: “Er komme morgen früh.” — “He comes tomorrow morning.”
Konjunktiv II (conditional)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | käme |
| du | kämest |
| er/sie/es | käme |
| wir | kämen |
| ihr | kämet |
| sie/Sie | kämen |
Konjunktiv II is used for hypothetical situations, wishes and polite requests. It doubles as the German conditional: there is no separate conditional tense, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not an engine tense. For example: “Ich käme morgen früh.” — “I would come tomorrow morning.”
Conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + participle)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | wäre gekommen |
| du | wärst gekommen |
| er/sie/es | wäre gekommen |
| wir | wären gekommen |
| ihr | wärt gekommen |
| sie/Sie | wären gekommen |
The conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + past participle) is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er wäre morgen früh gekommen.” — “He would have come tomorrow morning.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | komm |
| wir | kommen |
| ihr | kommt |
| sie/Sie | kommen |
The imperative (Imperativ) is used for direct commands, requests and instructions. With kommen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Komm morgen früh!” — “Come tomorrow morning!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | kommend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective or adverb, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle kommend is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle (Partizip II) | gekommen |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich bin aus Berlin gekommen.” — “I have come from Berlin.”
Infinitive (Infinitiv)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | kommen |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive. The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb: it is the form you look up, and the form that follows modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with kommen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich komme aus Berlin.” — “I come from Berlin.”
- “Du kamst morgen früh.” — “You came tomorrow morning.”
- “Er ist heute Abend mit uns gekommen.” — “He has come with us this evening.”
- “Ich werde aus Berlin kommen.” — “I will come from Berlin.”
- “Du kämest morgen früh.” — “You would come tomorrow morning.”
- “Ich war heute Abend mit uns gekommen.” — “I had come with us this evening.”
- “Du wirst morgen früh gekommen sein.” — “You will have come tomorrow morning.”
- “Er komme heute Abend mit uns.” — “He comes with us this evening.”
- “Ich wäre aus Berlin gekommen.” — “I would have come from Berlin.”
- “Komm aus Berlin!” — “Come from Berlin!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form komme.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich kommen aus Berlin.”
✓ Right: “Ich komme aus Berlin.”
kommen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with komme.
3. 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.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich habe aus Berlin gekommen.”
✓ Right: “Ich bin aus Berlin gekommen.”
The Perfekt of kommen is formed with sein plus the past participle gekommen: the ich form is bin gekommen. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the preterite where spoken German prefers the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich kam aus Berlin gestern.” (in everyday speech)
✓ Right: “Ich bin aus Berlin gekommen.”
In everyday spoken German the Perfekt bin gekommen is the usual past tense. The preterite kam is correct in writing and in stories, but it sounds formal in conversation.
6. Using the du form when talking to a group
✗ Wrong: “Komm aus Berlin!” (said to several people)
✓ Right: “Kommt aus Berlin!”
The du imperative komm is for one person you know well. For a group, use the ihr form kommt.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on kommen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of kommen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) kommst
- B) kommt
- C) kommen
- D) komme
What is the er/sie/es form of kommen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) kamst
- B) kamen
- C) kamt
- D) kam
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
What is the du form of kommen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst kommen
- B) werde kommen
- C) wird kommen
- D) werden kommen
What is the ich form of kommen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) kämest
- B) kämen
- C) kämet
- D) käme
What is the wir form of kommen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) waren gekommen
- B) war gekommen
- C) warst gekommen
- D) wart gekommen
What is the er/sie/es form of kommen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) kommest
- B) kommen
- C) kommet
- D) komme
What is the du form of kommen in the Imperative (Imperativ)?
- A) komm
- B) kommen
- C) kommt
- D) kommst
What is the past participle of kommen?
- A) gegeben
- B) gekommen
- C) gesagt
- D) gemacht
What does kommen mean in English?
- A) to give
- B) to come
- C) to say
- D) to make, to do
Answer key
- D) komme — the ich form of kommen in the Present (Präsens) is komme. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) kam — the er/sie/es form of kommen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is kam. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- 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.
- D) käme — the ich form of kommen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is käme. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) waren gekommen — the wir form of kommen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is waren gekommen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- A) komm — the du form of kommen in the Imperative (Imperativ) is komm. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) gekommen — the past participle of kommen is gekommen; it is used with sein in the perfect tenses. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- 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, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is kommend and the past participle is gekommen.
What are the participles of kommen?
The present participle (Partizip I) is kommend — use it as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle (Partizip II) is gekommen — use it with sein for the perfect tenses, as in bin gekommen.
Which auxiliary does kommen take in the Perfekt?
kommen takes sein in the Perfekt: the ich form is bin gekommen. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with sein plus the past participle gekommen.
Does German have a separate conditional tense?
No. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional: the ich form käme is the form you use for “would” meanings, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not a separate engine tense. The conditional perfect wäre gekommen covers “would have” meanings.
How do I say “I come from Berlin” in German?
Say “Ich komme aus Berlin.” — “I come from Berlin.” The ich form of the present is komme, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of kommen — every tense of kommen in one place.
- Kommen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Kommen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Sagen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Machen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Geben 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.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise kommen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise kommen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise kommen with the interactive tool.