kommen simple past (Präteritum) conjugation
Kommen (to come) in the simple past (Präteritum): kam, kamst, kam, kamen, kamt, kamen.
Präteritum Simple past
| ich | regular: kommete |
|---|---|
| du | regular: kommetest |
| er/sie/es | regular: kommete |
| wir | regular: kommeten |
| ihr | regular: kommetet |
| sie/Sie | regular: kommeten |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the simple past (Präteritum)
The Präteritum is the past tense of written narrative. In speech it is used mainly for sein, haben, werden and the modal verbs; other verbs usually take the Perfekt.
How it is formed
Weak verbs add te, test, te, ten, tet, ten to the stem (machte). Strong verbs change the stem vowel and take no ending in ich and er/sie/es (ging, sah, kam).
Kommen is irregular here. 6 of 6 forms break the pattern (dark tiles above); the regular pattern would give kommete, kommetest, kommete, kommeten, kommetet, kommeten.
Read more: German past tense: Perfekt vs Präteritum
Kommen in a sentence
- Ich komme aus Deutschland.I come from Germany.
- Sie ist spät gekommen.She came late.
Irregular Perfekt: gekommen; takes sein as motion verb.
FAQ
What is the simple past (Präteritum) of kommen?
Kommen in the German simple past (Präteritum): ich kam, du kamst, er/sie/es kam, wir kamen, ihr kamt, sie/Sie kamen.
Is kommen irregular in the simple past (Präteritum)?
Yes. 6 of 6 forms break the regular pattern: ich kam (regular would be kommete); du kamst (regular would be kommetest); er/sie/es kam (regular would be kommete); wir kamen (regular would be kommeten); ihr kamt (regular would be kommetet); sie/Sie kamen (regular would be kommeten).
When do you use the German simple past (Präteritum)?
The Präteritum is the past tense of written narrative. In speech it is used mainly for sein, haben, werden and the modal verbs; other verbs usually take the Perfekt.
How is the simple past (Präteritum) formed?
Weak verbs add te, test, te, ten, tet, ten to the stem (machte). Strong verbs change the stem vowel and take no ending in ich and er/sie/es (ging, sah, kam).
Full kommen conjugation, all tenses →
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