Before you start
Meet hinfahren
Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.
All 5 meanings
- (transitive) to give a ride [auxiliary haben] (to drive for someone else to reach a destination)
- (intransitive) to drive [auxiliary sein] (to drive to a specified location)
- (intransitive, slightly poetic) to drive away, to drive off [auxiliary sein]
- (intransitive, archaic, euphemistic) to decease [auxiliary sein]
- (intransitive, uncommon) to quickly wipe (away) (not repeatedly) [with über (+ accusative)] [auxiliary sein]
Build the meaning
hin- + fahren
- hin-
- toward a place away from the speaker or current location
- fahren
- to travel or drive
Travel by vehicle toward that other place.
So hinfahren means to go or drive there.
A memory aid, not a rule: prefixes change meaning from verb to verb.
Learning approach inspired by this explanation in r/German.
Separable verb: hin·fahren
In a main clause the prefix hin splits off and goes to the end. After weil, dass and other subordinating words, the verb stays in one piece at the end.
Main clauseEr fährt am Samstag zum Markt hin.He’s going to the market on Saturday.
Subordinate clauseIch weiß, dass du morgen zum Arzt hinfährst.I know that you’re going to the doctor tomorrow.
Participle: hingefahrenzu-infinitive: hinzufahren
Forms
How hinfahren changes
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | fahre hin | fuhr hin |
| du | fährst hin | fuhrst hin |
| er/sie/es | fährt hin | fuhr hin |
| wir | fahren hin | fuhren hin |
| ihr | fahrt hin | fuhrt hin |
| Sie | fahren hin | fuhren hin |
Partizip II hingefahren · Perfekt with sein
Three examples
- 1Ich fahre morgen zum Bahnhof hin.I’m going to the train station tomorrow.present with split prefix
- 2Wir sind gestern zum See hingefahren.We went to the lake yesterday.Perfekt with sein
- 3Sie bleibt zu Hause, weil sie nicht hinfahren kann.She is staying home because she can’t go there.verb at the end after weil