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Modal Verbs in German / Simple and Easy /Modalverben

In this lesson, you will learn everything you need to know about modal verbs in German. How they are formed, where they stand in a sentence, what they mean, when, and how they are used.

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CONTENTS

Modal verbs in German – what you need to know about them?
How modal verbs are conjugated?
Modal verbs in the past tense
 What do modal verbs mean?
können
mögen
müssen
sollen
wollen
dürfen
Modal verbs and word order in a sentence

Modal verbs in German – what you need to know about them?

Modal verbs are very common in German: it is therefore worthwhile spending time learning them by heart. It is a good idea to learn one at a time and then practise it in various sentences.

There are six verbs known as modal verbs (Modalverben):
dürfen             may/to be allowed (to), must
können            can/to be able to/may
müssen            to have to/must/to be obliged to
mögen             to like
sollen               to be supposed to/shall
wollen             to want/wish to
Modal verbs are normally used with another verb that gives meaning to the sentence.
Ich kann Englisch sprechen. I can speak English.
Er kann in Deutsch singen. He can sing in German.
When used in the present tense, the second verb (infinitive) goes at the end of the sentence. Here the modal verbs are in bold print and the infinitive of the verb in italic, so it is easy for you to identify them

Modal verbs actually show HOW an action or state is performed, that is, they indicate the possibility, inevitability, desire or uncertainty of their performance.Na primer:
1.Ich kann heute Nachmittag mein Zimmer aufräumen. (I can clean my room this afternoon.)
2.Ich muss heute Nachmittag mein Zimmer aufräumen. (I have to clean my room this afternoon.)
3.Ich will heutemein Zimmer aufräumen.( I want to clean my room.)
4.Ich möchte heute mein Zimmer aufräumen.( I want to clean my room.)

Modal verbs can stand alone in a sentence.
For example: Er muss zum Arzt.

However, they usually stand with another verb in the sentence.

For example:
Mia kann Gitarre spielen.
Marko muss zum Arzt gehen.

How modal verbs are conjugated?

Modal verbs in the Present tense 

Useful Tipps:

  • Modal Verbs a irregular: ich darf , wir dürfen
  • The singular has no  Umlaut: ich darf, du darfst, er darf
  • 1st and 3rd person singular is the same: ich darf – er darf
  • 1st and 3rd person plural is the same: wir können – sie können

 Modal verbs in the past tense

Modal verbs in the past tense. What is characteristic of them:

  • they don’t have Umlaut (two dots on a, o, u = ä, ö, ü) 
  • we add suffixes: -te, -test, -te, -ten, -tet, -ten to modal verbs stem
  • 1st  and 3rd  person singular is the same: ich konnte – er konnte
  • 1st  and 3rd  person plural  is the same: wir konnten – sie konnten
  • they can stand alone in a sentence: Er musste zum Arzt.
  • BUT: they mostly stand with another verb in the sentence: Er musste zum Arzt gehen.
  • In spoken language they are rather used in the past tense instead of perfect tense

We have already translated them above and you are wondering what else there is to add. We need to clarify some more subtleties. They meant a lot to me when studying, I believe they will help you too. So let’s see what those finesse are:

What do modal verbs mean?

können

The verb können has three meanings: KNOW, CAN, KNOW

know:  Ich kann Deutsch (sprechen).
can:  Kannst du mir helfen?
know: Ich kann Ski fahren.

Können also has the meaning of permission or prohibition. In this variant, können corresponds to the modal verb dürfen, where dürfen more clearly expresses the meaning of permission or prohibition, while können can often only be recognized through context.

An example of a ban:

Sie können hier nicht rauchen.     (You can’t/must not smoke here.)
Sie dürfen hier nicht rauchen. 

Example for permission:

Sie können jetzt reingehen.  (You may enter now.)
Sie dürfen jetzt reingehen.

mögen

Mögen is mostly used as a main verb. It is connected to an object in the accusative case, which can refer to a person or a thing:

Ich mag Jazz. (I like jazz.)
Ich mag Jan. (I like Jan.)

The modal verb MÖGEN has two meanings:

1. love something
2. to have a desire to do something or to like something or someone.

The first meaning is generally expressed with mögen and the second with möchnen.

Ich mag Schockolade sehr gern. (I like chocolate a lot.)
Ich möchte noch ein Stück Schokolade. (I want another piece of chocolate.)

In the first sentence, we stated that we love chocolate, it’s not just for the moment. And in the second sentence we want a piece of chocolate right now.

The past tense of the verb möchten.

  1. Möchten is a form of the modal verb mögen in subjunctive II , and expresses desire in the present.
  2. But if it is to be expressed in the past tense, then the modal verb wollen is chosen.
    Examples:
    Ich möchte nach Italien fahren. (I want to travel to Italy.)
    Ich wollte nach Italien fahren. (I wanted to travel to Italy.)

    Both sentences express desire, only the first describes the present and the second describes the past.
  3. The modal verb wollen also expresses desire, but in the present tense that desire with wollen is stronger, more intense, we actually want something, however when we use this verb we act less polite:
    Ich möchte mit dir sprechen.( I want to talk to you.)
    Ich will mit dir sprechen. (I want to talk to you.)
    In the second sentence, a stronger desire is expressed.
  4. Möchten can also be used as a main verb to mean a kind wish. Then it is combined with an accusative object or a dass-clause.
  5. Eva möchte ein Glas Wasser.
    Eva möchte, dass du sie besuchst.

müssen

Müssen expresses OBLIGATION or NECESSITY:

Er muss lernen. Er hat morgen eine Prüfung.( He has to study. He has an exam tomorrow.)

In addition, the modal verb müssen is used to express requests. In this variant, müssen can be replaced by sollen.

Du musst deinen Chef anrufen. (You have to call your boss.)
Du sollst deine Chefin anrufen. (You should call your boss.)

Here, however, it must be pointed out that müssen expresses the request more intensively.

Brauchen can be used instead of müssen, but only if müssen is used with negation or limitation:

nicht/ nur  müssen

Er muss das nicht machen.
Er muss mich nur anrufen.

nicht/ nur  brauchen  + zu
Er braucht das nicht zu machen.
Er braucht mich nur anzurufen.

Müssen can also be used independently in a sentence, without the main verb: Ich muss jetzt los. (I have to go now.)

sollen

Sollen is used to express ORDERS FROM ANOTHER PERSON, sollen can also be used to give ADVICE:

Du sollst mehr an die frische Luft gehen.
Du sollst dein Fahrrad nicht im Hof abstellen.

These orders sound very serious – like orders. However, if you use “sollen” in the subjunctive II, the command becomes good advice:
Du solltest mehr an die frische Luft gehen.( “solltest is sollen in subjunctive II = here the advice sounds more polite)
Du solltest dein Fahrrad nicht im Hof abstellen.

wollen

The verb wollen expresses a WISH, a REQUEST as well, and with it we can express PLANS. then it can be replaced with mochten:

Ich will eine Cola trinken.
Willst du mal meine Pizza probieren?
Ich möchte gerne eine Cola.
Am Wochenende wollen wir ins Schwimbad gehen.

Wollen sounds quite decisive and perhaps too strict in certain situations. That’s why polite requests and wishes are expressed using the verb möchten:

Ich möchte gern eine Cola.
Ich möchte bitte ein Bier.

The phrase: Ich hätte gern eine Cola/ ein Bier is also often used.

dürfen

Dürfen is used to express PERMISSION or PROHIBITION:

Ban: Hier darf man nicht rauchen.
Permit: Du darfst jetzt gehen.
Asking permission: Darf ich Sie etwas fragen?

Modal verbs and word order in a sentence

Present / Past tense

The order of words with modal verbs is the same in both the present and the past tense. The modal verb comes second in the sentence and in the first person, and the main verb is at the end of the sentence, in the infinitive.

Ich muss hier mein Handy ausmachen.
Du darfst hier nicht telefonieren.
Hier muss man leise sprechen.
Ich wollte Medizin studieren.
Ich musste aber  als  Krankenschwester arbeiten.

The second place in the sentence does not mean the second word.

For example:

Meine Schwester will in Spanien studieren.

Will is the third word in the sentence, but it takes second place, because meine Schwester is a group of words that are combined into one conceptual entity and simply go together as one concept.

Perfect tense

Sentences with modal verbs are formed somewhat differently in the perfect tense, than is the case only with ordinary verbs. There is no participle II. Here we actually get two infinitives.
For example:
Meine Schwester hat in Spanien studieren wollen.

As we mentioned earlier, modal verbs are mostly used in the PRETERITE. That’s why we will simply say.

For example:

Meine Schwester wollte in Spanien studieren.

Do you want to learn even more? Here you will find other topics that you may also be interested in:

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