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Before you start

Meet vorkommen

Read how the verb is used, then write your own 10 sentences with it.

All 4 meanings

  1. (intransitive) to appear, to occur (in a given location or situation)
  2. (intransitive) to occur, to happen (with some regularity)
  3. (copulative with adjectives and comparisons) to seem, to appear [with dative ‘to someone’]
  4. (dative reflexive) to feel (oneself to be smart, stupid, clever, dumb, etc., at a specific point in time)
Build the meaning

vor- + kommen

vor-
forward or into view
kommen
to come

Something comes into view as an event, or comes across to someone in a particular way.

So vorkommen means to happen, occur, or seem.

A memory aid, not a rule: prefixes change meaning from verb to verb.

Learning approach inspired by this explanation in r/German.

Separable verb: vor·kommen

In a main clause the prefix vor splits off and goes to the end. After weil, dass and other subordinating words, the verb stays in one piece at the end.

Main clauseDas kommt mir bekannt vor.That seems familiar to me.
Subordinate clauseWeil mir das oft vorkommt.Because that often happens to me.
Participle: vorgekommenzu-infinitive: vorzukommen
Forms

How vorkommen changes

PronounPräsensPräteritum
ichkomme vorkam vor
dukommst vorkamst vor
er/sie/eskommt vorkam vor
wirkommen vorkamen vor
ihrkommt vorkamt vor
Siekommen vorkamen vor

Partizip II vorgekommen · Perfekt with sein

Three examples

  1. 1
    Der Fehler kommt oft vor.The mistake happens often.prefix goes to the end
  2. 2
    Das ist mir seltsam vorgekommen.That seemed strange to me.Perfekt with sein
  3. 3
    Es kann vorkommen, dass es regnet.It can happen that it rains.modal verb with infinitive
Verb family

More verbs built on kommen

Same base verb, a different prefix, a new meaning.

All 11 verbs built on kommen →

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