Entkomme

Entkomme is a German verb form that serves as the first-person singular present indicative of entkommen, meaning to escape or get away. In use, it appears as ich entkomme and expresses the speaker’s immediate action of escaping from something such as danger or pursuit.

Etymology and analysis: entkommen is formed with the prefix ent- attached to kommen (to come). The prefix conveys a sense of leaving or getting away from something. The verb is typically used in intransitive or semi-transitive constructions, often with a dative object or a prepositional phrase indicating what is being escaped (for example, der Verfolgung or vor dem Sturm). The auxiliary in perfect tenses is sein, as in Ich bin entkommen.

Conjugation and forms: The present tense forms are ich entkomme, du entkommst, er entkommt, wir entkommen, ihr entkommt, sie entkommen. The given form entkomme corresponds to ich entkomme when isolated as a stem form or in teaching lists. The past participle is entkommen, and the present perfect is Ich bin entkommen. The noun form das Entkommen exists and means the act of escaping.

Usage notes: Entkommen is used to describe escaping from tangible threats (to escape a pursuit, danger, or confinement) and can appear in literary or journalistic writing as well as everyday speech. It can also appear in idiomatic phrases such as etwas entkommen, though the exact construction may vary with the object’s case. It is less common to use entkommen for abstract failures or failures to meet expectations, where other verbs are typically preferred.

Related terms: Entkommen is related to other German verb formations with ent- prefixes, and its noun das Entkommen is used when emphasizing the act of escaping rather than the event itself. See also entkommen in dictionaries for additional usage patterns and example sentences.