A2 · Strong verbs
drei Stammformen: gehen, ging, gegangen
learn strong verbs as three forms together
FormInfinitiv, Präteritum, Partizip II (gehen, ging, gegangen) + haben/sein im Perfekt
Meaning and usage
A strong verb does not form its past with -te. It changes its stem vowel instead: gehen becomes ging in the preterite and gegangen in the participle. Because you cannot predict these vowels, you learn each verb as one package of three forms, said together like a chant: gehen, ging, gegangen. You also note whether the perfect uses haben or sein, for example ich bin gegangen but ich habe gelesen.
In stories and reports about the past, the preterite is common: Ich ging nach Hause. In conversation, the perfect is more usual: Ich bin nach Hause gegangen. A very common mistake is mixing the forms, for example ich bin geging or ich habe gegangen, or using the wrong auxiliary. Learn all three parts plus the auxiliary as one unit from the start.
Examples 6
Haben Sie schon die Zeitung von heute gelesen?
Have you read today's newspaper yet?
Ich habe nur die ersten drei Kapitel gelesen.
I only read the first three chapters.
Ich bin um sieben aus dem Haus gegangen.
I left home at seven.
Bist du mit dem Bus nach Boston gekommen?
Did you come to Boston by bus?
Seit wie vielen Tagen hast du nichts gegessen?
How many days have you gone without food?
Hast du schon einmal in einem Hubschrauber gesessen?
Have you ever been in a helicopter?
Test yourself
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1 Sprachbausteine
Ich bin gestern mit meiner Schwester ins Kino .
Show answer
Correct answer: gegangen
The auxiliary bin shows the perfect, so the sentence needs the participle gegangen at the end.
- gegangen bin The participle goes at the end of the sentence, and the auxiliary bin already stands in position 2, so this word order is impossible.
- gingen This preterite form also agrees with wir or sie, not with ich, and cannot follow bin.
- geging is not a German form: the participle of gehen is gegangen.
In this topic: Strong verbs
- drei Stammformen: gehen, ging, gegangen learn strong verbs as three forms together
- bleiben, blieb, geblieben strong verbs with ei that become ie in the past
- trinken, trank, getrunken strong verbs with i, a, u: trinken, trank, getrunken
- sprechen, sprach, gesprochen strong verbs with a in the past and o in the participle
- geben, gab, gegeben strong verbs with e to a in the past, e in the participle
- fahren, fuhr, gefahren strong verbs with a → u in the past tense
- fliegen, flog, geflogen strong verbs with o in preterite and participle
- schlafen, schlief, geschlafen strong verbs with ie in the preterite
- stehen, stand, gestanden; tun, tat, getan very common strong verbs with irregular vowel changes
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.