Modal Verbs of Subjective Meaning in German / Modalverben Subjektiver Gebrauch

In this lesson, you will learn all about modal verbs of subjective character in the German language. In many ways, they look like ordinary modal verbs, but their meaning is different. Thanks to them, we can use those small nuances, which we often miss when using a foreign language, such as, for example, to express an assumption or doubt, as well as to express the probability of a higher and lower degree. And we can pass on the claims and gossip of other people and distance ourselves.

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CONTENTS

What are modal verbs of subjective meaning?
Modal verbs that express an assumption
Forms and meanings
Present tense forms
Past tense forms
Passing on information/rumors-sollen and wollen
Present tense forms for sollen and wollen
Past tense forms for sollen and wollen

What are modal verbs of subjective meaning?

Modal verbs have both objective and subjective meaning. Modal verbs with a subjective meaning in German are used, among other things, to express assertions or assumptions. See how it looks.

For example:
Die Kollegin Vesna ist heute nicht in die Arbeit gekommen.

How sure are we why colleague Vesna did not come?

Sie muss kranksein.	Sie müsste kranksein.	Sie dürfte kranksein.	Sie könnte kranksein.
99% ganz sicher, bestimmt (definitely definitely)	85% sehr wahrscheinlich (very likely)	75% wahrscheinlich/ vermutlich (probably)	50-30 % vielleicht/ möglicherweise (perhaps)
muss	müsste	dürfte	könnte
She must be sick, or she would be here.	I guess she’s sick. She wasn’t feeling well the other day.	I guess she’s sick. Many people have the flu right now.	Maybe she fell asleep.

The speaker can give his assessment of the event and situation. The modal verb in this usage loses its original meaning.

For a start, this is enough for you to know. But here is an extended version. For those who want a higher level of knowledge.

Modal verbs that express an assumption

This group includes müssen, dürfen, können and mögen. In addition, the assumption can be expressed with the verb werden.

Forms and meanings

With the help of the modal verbs müssen, dürfen, können, mögen, we can express a presupposition, that is, our personality, a subjective attitude about something. Thanks to them, we can grade our assumption, and how likely our statement could be.

Let’s see how it looks:

Present tense forms

müssen, dürfen, können, mögen in the indicative or subjunctive II present + infinitive

Past tense forms

Modal verbs with a subjective meaning in the past tense are easy to distinguish from objective verbs because they have different forms.
Müssen, dürfen, können, mögen in the indicative or subjunctive II present + Infinitive Perfect.

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Grammar Contents

Passing on information/rumors – sollen and wollen

This group includes the modal verbs sollen and wollen. And they can be used in a subjective sense. In that form, they serve to retell something we heard. Similar to indirect speech, the speaker maintains a certain distance from the utterance. In this way, he distances himself from the truthfulness of a foreign statement. The verbs sollen and wollen are used differently.

The modal verb sollen is used to convey information or rumours. The modal verb wollen is used to express what a person claims or has said about himself. However, the speaker doubts the truth of the statement

Present tense forms for sollen and wollen

Present of the modal verbs sollen or wollen in the indicative + infinitive of the main verb. 

Past tense forms for sollen and wollen

Present of the verb sollen or wollen in the indicative + Partizip II + haben or sein.

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