kommen

Kommen is a basic German verb meaning “to come” or “to arrive.” It denotes movement toward a place or toward the speaker, and it is also used in a variety of metaphorical senses, such as origin, development, or occurrence. The verb serves as the basis for many prefixed verbs, for example ankommen (to arrive) and aufkommen (to arise).

Conjugation and key tenses: In the present tense: ich komme, du kommst, er kommt, wir kommen, ihr kommt, sie kommen. The preterite (simple past) forms are: ich kam, du kamst, er kam, wir kamen, ihr kamt, sie kamen. The perfect tense uses sein: ich bin gekommen. Pluperfect: ich war gekommen. Subjunctive I (reported speech): er komme; Subjunctive II (conditional): ich käme. The participle is gekommen, and the present participle is kommend.

Usage and constructions: Kommen primarily indicates physical movement toward a destination or toward the speaker, but it also appears in fixed phrases and metaphorical contexts. Examples: Ich komme aus Deutschland (I come from Germany / I am from Germany). Wir kommen heute Abend an (We will arrive this evening). Es kommt darauf an (It depends). Wir kommen zu einem Ergebnis (We come to a conclusion / We arrive at a result). Zusammen mit Präfixen bildet sich eine Reihe von Verben, z.B. ankommen (to arrive) and aufkommen (to arise).

Etymology and cognates: The verb comes from Old High German komen, and in Proto-Germanic it is reconstructed as *kumanan. It has cognates across Germanic languages, such as Dutch komen and English come.

Participle forms: Partizip II is gekommen; Partizip I (present participle) is kommend.