The irregular verb "gehen" in German
Meaning of "gehen" in German
The verb "gehen" means:
1.-to go on foot, to walk, to go
"gehen" is a verb that is used very often in German.
Ich gehe zur Bank
I’m walking to the bank
Pronunciation: [ˈɡeːən]
Structure for the intransitive case:
gehen + nach + [dative] (to walk to a country, city without an article or home)
Ich gehe nach Köln
I’m going to Cologne (walking)
Ich gehe nach Hause
I’m going home (walking)
gehen + in + [accusative] (to walk to a country or city with an article)
Ich gehe in die Turkei
I’m going to Turkey
(spazieren) gehen + in + [dative] (to walk in a place)
Ich bin im Krankenhaus spazieren gegangen
I was walking in the Hospital
gehen + zu + [dative] ( zu is used to walk to a person or a place)
Ich gehe zu dir
I’m going to you
Ich gehe zum Arzt
I'm going to the doctor
Ich gehe zur Schule
I’m going to school
gehen + auf + [accusative] ( Auf is used for walking to some open place. There are exceptions)
Ich gehe auf die Straße
I’m going onto the street
gehen + auf + [dative]
Ich gehe auf der Straße
I am walking on the street
gehen + von + [dative] (to walk from)
Ich gehe von der Schweiz
I’m going from Switzerland (walking)
Main article:Prepositions in german
Grammar of "gehen"
"gehen" is an irregular verb with the auxiliary verb sein.
| Verb | 3rd Person | Präteritum | Partizip II | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gehen | geht | ging | gegangen | to walk |
Conjugation of "gehen"
Present simple (Präsens Indikativ)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich gehe | I walk |
| du gehst | you walk |
| er geht | he walks |
| wir gehen | we walk |
| ihr geht | you walk |
| sie gehen | they walk |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich bin gegangen | I have walked |
| du bist gegangen | you have walked |
| er ist gegangen | he has walked |
| wir sind gegangen | we have walked |
| ihr seid gegangen | you have walked |
| sie sind gegangen | they have walked |
Simple past (Präteritum)
| Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ich ging | I walked |
| du gingst | you walked |
| er ging | he walked |
| wir gingen | we walked |
| ihr gingt | you walked |
| sie gingen | they walked |
The Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II)
| Conjugation |
|---|
| ich ginge |
| du gingest |
| er ginge |
| wir gingen |
| ihr ginget |
| sie gingen |
Participle (Partizip)
| Partizip I | Partizip II |
|---|---|
| gehend (yendo) | gegangen (ido) |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Conjugation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd person singular | geh | walk |
| 2nd person plural | geht | walk |
| Polite form | gehen Sie | walk |
Colloquial forms
In coloquial German, the following non-academic forms are frequently used:
| Colloquial form | Standard | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| gehn | gehen | to go |
| ich geh | ich gehe | I go |
| geht's | geht es | it´s going |
Verbs with stem 'gehen'
Now we show you the main verbs with the stem 'gehen'
| Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| aufgehen | to come undone (separable verb) |
| ausgegehen | to go out (separable verb) |
| losgehen | to start (separable verb) |
| mitgehen | to go with (separable verb) |
| vergehen | to decay (inseparable verb) |
| zurückgehen | to go back (separable verb) |
Related topics: Verb conjugation
Audiovisual suplement
A video with the lyrics from a fantastic song from the German artist Nena: Willst du mit mir gehn (do you want to go with me?)
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