01
kommen
to come
To move toward a place or person, especially toward the speaker, or to arrive at a destination.
example
Kommst du bitte mal her?
Could you please come here for a moment?
kommen
to come
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Meanings
01 / 07
Usage tips
Auxiliary verb in the perfect tense
As a verb of movement, 'kommen' always forms the perfect tense with the auxiliary verb 'sein'. Using 'haben' is a common mistake.
EXAMPLE
Ich bin gestern Abend spät nach Hause gekommen.
I came home late yesterday evening.
Origin with 'aus'
To express origin, 'kommen' is fixed with the preposition 'aus' and the dative. This is one of the first and most important phrases learners encounter.
EXAMPLE
Meine Familie kommt aus Italien.
My family comes from Italy.
Having an idea
The fixed expression 'auf etwas kommen' means to have an idea or to remember something. The preposition 'auf' requires the accusative here.
EXAMPLE
Wie bist du auf diese geniale Lösung gekommen?
How did you think of this brilliant solution?
Reaching a result
The combination 'zu etwas kommen' describes reaching a result or endpoint. The preposition 'zu' requires the dative. Typical collocations are 'zu einem Ergebnis kommen' (to come to a result) or 'zu einem Abschluss kommen' (to come to a conclusion).
EXAMPLE
Die Wissenschaftler sind zu einem überraschenden Ergebnis gekommen.
The scientists came to a surprising result.
Sentence structure when placing
In the meaning 'to be placed', the subject often comes after the verb, while the location expression is in position 1. This sentence structure emphasizes where something belongs.
EXAMPLE
Auf den ersten Platz kommt der Gewinner des Wettbewerbs.
In first place goes the winner of the competition.
Asking about what happened
To ask how something happened, the impersonal construction 'Wie ist es zu ... gekommen?' is often used. The event is in the dative.
EXAMPLE
Wie ist es zu diesem Streit gekommen?
How did this argument happen?
Direction and destination
In the basic meaning of movement, 'kommen' is often combined with prepositions that indicate a direction or destination, such as 'zu', 'nach', 'in', or 'an'.
EXAMPLE
Er ist zu mir gekommen, um um Hilfe zu bitten.
He came to me to ask for help.
Compare with
kommen vs gehen
to go
'gehen' and 'kommen' both describe movement to or away from a place. The important difference is the direction. 'gehen' is often used when someone leaves a place or moves toward a destination. 'kommen' is used when someone moves toward the speaker, toward another person, or toward a named place. Learners can easily confuse the words because both have to do with movement. A simple guide is: someone who comes to me or here 'kommt'. Someone who goes away from here 'geht'.
kommen
Nach der Arbeit komme ich mit den Kindern nach Hause.
After work, I come home with the children.
gehen
Morgen geht meine Schwester früh zum Arzt.
Tomorrow my sister is going to the doctor early.
In real life
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