to go wrong
schiefgehen – ging schief – ist schiefgegangen
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to go wrong
Not to proceed as planned or desired; to fail or go badly.
Ich hatte alles gut vorbereitet, aber bei der Präsentation ist dann doch einiges schiefgegangen.
I had prepared everything well, but during the presentation quite a few things still went wrong.
| er/sie/es | geht schief |
|---|---|
| sie | gehen schief |
| er/sie/es | ging schief |
|---|---|
| sie | gingen schief |
| er/sie/es | ist schiefgegangen |
|---|---|
| sie | sind schiefgegangen |
| er/sie/es | war schiefgegangen |
|---|---|
| sie | waren schiefgegangen |
| er/sie/es | wird schiefgehen |
|---|---|
| sie | werden schiefgehen |
| er/sie/es | gehe schief |
|---|---|
| sie | gehen schief |
Used for reported speech.
| er/sie/es | ginge schief |
|---|---|
| sie | gingen schief |
Used for wishes and “would”.
| infinitive | schiefgehen |
|---|---|
| with zu | schiefzugehen |
| present participle | schiefgehend |
| past participle | schiefgegangen |
The word is made up of 'schief' (crooked, not straight) and 'gehen' (to go). When a plan 'schiefgeht' (goes wrong), figuratively speaking, it does not follow the straight, planned path, but turns off in the wrong direction.
Wir hatten Angst, dass bei dem Experiment etwas schiefgehen könnte.
We were afraid that something could go wrong during the experiment.
'Schiefgehen' (to go wrong) is a separable verb. The prefix 'schief' comes at the end in a main clause. In subordinate clauses and in the infinitive with 'zu', the verb stays together.
Bei meiner ersten Fahrprüfung ging alles schief.
Everything went wrong during my first driving test.
Ich bin froh, dass nichts schiefgegangen ist.
I'm glad that nothing went wrong.
Er versucht, positiv zu denken und keine Angst davor zu haben, dass etwas schiefgehen könnte.
He tries to think positively and not be afraid that something could go wrong.
The perfect tense of 'schiefgehen' (to go wrong) is always formed with the auxiliary verb 'sein'. The reason is that the verb describes a change of state: from 'in Ordnung' (okay/in order) to 'nicht in Ordnung' (not okay/not in order).
Leider ist mein ganzer Plan schiefgegangen.
Unfortunately, my whole plan went wrong.
to work / to fold
Klappen and schiefgehen describe how a plan may turn out, but with opposite results. Klappen means that the plan works or succeeds. Schiefgehen directly says that it does not proceed as desired.
Ohne gute Vorbereitung kann unser Plan leicht schiefgehen.
Without good preparation, our plan could easily go wrong.
Mit guter Vorbereitung wird unser Plan bestimmt klappen.
With good preparation, our plan is sure to work out.
