ich bin gegangen
The English phrase "I went" is translated into German as ich bin gegangen.
The phrase is used to describe the act of moving from one place to another in the past.
Which one should you use?
While ich bin gegangen is the conversational form used in everyday speech, the form ich ging is also a way to say "I went" but is used primarily in formal or literary contexts.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Austrian German, speakers often replace the standard form with I bin g'gangen. In some Southern German dialects, you may hear I bin ganga and in Swiss German, the phrase is often substituted with I bi gange.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because this phrase describes a change of location, it uses the auxiliary verb sein (to be) instead of haben (to have).
Did you know?
- The word gegangen is used in the German expression gegangen sein, which can euphemistically mean that someone has died.
- In some German dialects, the word gehen can be used to describe the movement of a clock's hands or the flow of a river.
- The word bin in ich bin gegangen is a linguistic hybrid. It combines an ancient root shared with the English 'am' with an extra 'b' sound that was added by Germanic speakers thousands of years ago.
Examples in context
- Ich bin gestern zur Bibliothek gegangen.I went to the library yesterday.
- Ich war im Urlaub in Italien.I went on vacation to Italy.
- Ich habe meine Großeltern besucht.I went to visit my grandparents.
- Ich bin heute Morgen in den Park gegangen.I went to the park this morning.
- Ich war letzte Nacht auf der Party.I went to the party last night.
- Ich habe gestern einen Abstecher zum Markt gemacht.I went for a detour to the market yesterday.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bin, gegangen, ich, CC BY-SA 4.0.
