Before you start
Meet vorbeigehen
Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.
All 3 meanings
- to go past, to go by [with an (+ dative) ‘someone/something’]
- to drop by [with an (+ dative) ‘someone’]
- to end; to pass (of a period of time)
Build the meaning
vorbei- + gehen
- vorbei-
- past and beyond a point
- gehen
- to go, to walk
You go past a point and continue beyond it.
So vorbeigehen means to go past; to pass by.
A memory aid, not a rule: prefixes change meaning from verb to verb.
Learning approach inspired by this explanation in r/German.
Separable verb: vorbei·gehen
In a main clause the prefix vorbei 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 Weg geht am See vorbei.The path goes past the lake.
Subordinate clauseIch bleibe hier, weil der Weg am See vorbeigeht.I’ll stay here because the path goes past the lake.
Participle: vorbeigegangenzu-infinitive: vorbeizugehen
Forms
How vorbeigehen changes
| Pronoun | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | gehe vorbei | ging vorbei |
| du | gehst vorbei | gingst vorbei |
| er/sie/es | geht vorbei | ging vorbei |
| wir | gehen vorbei | gingen vorbei |
| ihr | geht vorbei | gingt vorbei |
| Sie | gehen vorbei | gingen vorbei |
Partizip II vorbeigegangen · Perfekt with sein
Three examples
- 1Ich gehe jeden Morgen am Park vorbei.I walk past the park every morning.present, prefix at the end
- 2Sie ist gestern an mir vorbeigegangen.She walked past me yesterday.Perfekt with sein
- 3Ruf mich an, wenn du am Haus vorbeigehst.Call me when you pass the house.verb at the end after wenn
Verb family
More verbs built on gehen
Same base verb, a different prefix, a new meaning.
- ausgehento go out, assume
- 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