From Middle High German begegenen, begagenen, from Old High German bigaganen, with prefix from Proto-West Germanic *gaginijan, from Proto-Germanic *gaginjaną; equivalent to be- + gegnen (“encounter”) + -en. Cognate with Dutch bejegenen.
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begegnen (weak, third-person singular present begegnet, past tense begegnete, past participle begegnet, auxiliary sein)
Despite the initial prefix be-, which is usually a transitive verb marker (and thus indicates that the verb governs the accusative), the object of this verb is always in the dative case, because the encounter happens to both subject and object, and not to the object alone. Also, the auxiliary for this verb is sein rather than haben, since it implies a movement:
infinitive | begegnen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | begegnend | ||||
past participle | begegnet | ||||
auxiliary | sein | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich begegne | wir begegnen | i | ich begegne | wir begegnen |
du begegnest | ihr begegnet | du begegnest | ihr begegnet | ||
er begegnet | sie begegnen | er begegne | sie begegnen | ||
preterite | ich begegnete | wir begegneten | ii | ich begegnete1 | wir begegneten1 |
du begegnetest | ihr begegnetet | du begegnetest1 | ihr begegnetet1 | ||
er begegnete | sie begegneten | er begegnete1 | sie begegneten1 | ||
imperative | begegne (du) | begegnet (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.