Before you start
Meet entgegenkommen
Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.
All 2 meanings
- (intransitive) to come towards the face of something or someone
- (intransitive, figuratively) to accommodate, comply with (a request, wishes etc.); to satisfy (a requirement, need)
Build the meaning
entgegen- + kommen
- entgegen-
- toward someone, in the opposite direction
- kommen
- to come
You come toward someone to meet them, or move partway toward what they want.
So entgegenkommen means to come to meet; to accommodate.
A memory aid, not a rule: prefixes change meaning from verb to verb.
Learning approach inspired by this explanation in r/German.
Separable verb: entgegen·kommen
In a main clause the prefix entgegen splits off and goes to the end. After weil, dass and other subordinating words, the verb stays in one piece at the end.
Main clauseDer Bus kommt uns entgegen.The bus is coming toward us.
Subordinate clauseIch bin froh, dass du mir entgegenkommst.I’m glad that you’re accommodating me.
Participle: entgegengekommenzu-infinitive: entgegenzukommen
Forms
How entgegenkommen changes
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | komme entgegen | kam entgegen |
| du | kommst entgegen | kamst entgegen |
| er/sie/es | kommt entgegen | kam entgegen |
| wir | kommen entgegen | kamen entgegen |
| ihr | kommt entgegen | kamt entgegen |
| Sie | kommen entgegen | kamen entgegen |
Partizip II entgegengekommen · Perfekt with sein
Three examples
- 1Ich komme dir beim Plan entgegen.I’ll accommodate you with the plan.accommodating someone
- 2Der Mann ist mir gestern entgegengekommen.The man came to meet me yesterday.Perfekt with sein
- 3Du musst mir heute entgegenkommen.You have to meet me halfway today.with a modal verb
Verb family
More verbs built on kommen
Same base verb, a different prefix, a new meaning.
- ankommento arrive
- vorkommento happen, occur, seem
- zurückkommento return
- hereinkommento come in
- herauskommento come out
- zukommento come towards, be in store
- herkommento come here
- aufkommento come up, arise, pay for