Before you start
Meet ausgehen
Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.
All 11 meanings
- (intransitive) to go out (to leave one's abode to go to public places)
- (intransitive, of a light, etc.) to go out (to be turned off or extinguished)
- (intransitive) to run out (to be completely used up or consumed)
- (intransitive, especially of hair, teeth, etc.) to fall out (to come out without being made to do so)
- (intransitive) to start, to begin; to come, to stem, to lead off, to radiate (to originate (at or from a certain location)) [with von (+ dative) ‘at/from a location’]
- (intransitive) to start (from), to take as one's starting point [with von (+ dative) ‘from something’]
Build the meaning
aus- + gehen
- aus-
- outward, away from an inside or starting point
- gehen
- to go
Something goes outward from where it began—or goes out of its current state.
So ausgehen means to go out; to go off or run out; to assume or proceed from a starting point.
A memory aid, not a rule: prefixes change meaning from verb to verb.
Learning approach inspired by this explanation in r/German.
Separable verb: aus·gehen
In a main clause the prefix aus splits off and goes to the end. After weil, dass and other subordinating words, the verb stays in one piece at the end.
Main clauseMeine Freunde gehen am Samstag aus.My friends are going out on Saturday.
Subordinate clauseIch bleibe zu Hause, weil die Lampe ausgeht.I’m staying home because the lamp is going out.
Participle: ausgegangenzu-infinitive: auszugehen
Forms
How ausgehen changes
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | gehe aus | ging aus |
| du | gehst aus | gingst aus |
| er/sie/es | geht aus | ging aus |
| wir | gehen aus | gingen aus |
| ihr | geht aus | gingt aus |
| Sie | gehen aus | gingen aus |
Partizip II ausgegangen · Perfekt with sein
Three examples
- 1Das Licht geht plötzlich aus.The light suddenly goes out.prefix goes to the end
- 2Wir sind gestern früh ausgegangen.We went out early yesterday.Perfekt with sein
- 3Ich gehe davon aus, dass er heute kommt.I assume that he is coming today.verb at the end after dass
Verb family
More verbs built on gehen
Same base verb, a different prefix, a new meaning.
- eingehento deal with, give attention
- weitergehento go on
- angehento concern, go on
- zurückgehento go back, decrease
- umgehento treat, handle
- hingehento go there
- zugehento approach, close
- aufgehento rise, open