Using the Six German Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are used to indicate a possibility or necessity. English has modal verbs like can, may, must, and will. Similarly, German has a total of six modal (or modal auxiliary) verbs that you will need to know because theyre used all the time. What Are the German Modal Verbs? Man kann einfach nicht ohne die Modalverben auskommen!  (You simply cant get along without the modal verbs!) Can (kà ¶nnen) is a modal verb. The other modal verbs are just as impossible to avoid. You have to (mà ¼ssen) use them to complete many sentences. You shouldnt (sollen) even consider trying not to. But why would you want to (wollen)? Did you notice how many times we used modal verbs while explaining their importance? Here are the six modal verbs to look out for: dà ¼rfen -  may, be permitted  Ã‚  Ã‚  kà ¶nnen -  can, be ablemà ¶gen -  like  Ã‚  Ã‚  mà ¼ssen -  must, have tosollen -  should, ought to  Ã‚  Ã‚  wollen -  want to Modals derive their name from the fact that they always  modify  another verb. Additionally, they are always used in tandem with the infinitive form of another verb, as in,  Ich muss morgen nach Frankfurt fahren. (ich muss  Ã‚  fahren) The infinitive at the end may be left off when its meaning is clear:  Ich muss morgen nach Frankfurt. (I must [go/travel] to Frankfurt tomorrow.). Whether implied or stated, the infinitive is always placed at the end of the sentence. The exception is when they appear in subordinate clauses: Er sagt, dass er nicht kommen kann. (He says he cannot come.) Modals in the Present Tense Each modal only has two basic forms:  singular  and  plural. This is the most important rule you need to remember about modal verbs in the present tense. As an example, the verb kà ¶nnen  has the basic forms  kann  (singular) and  kà ¶nnen  (plural). For the singular pronouns  ich,  du,  er/sie/es, you will use  kann  (du  adds its usual -st  ending:  du kannst).For the plural pronouns  wir,  ihr,  sie/Sie, you will use  kà ¶nnen  (ihr  takes its usual -t  ending:  ihr kà ¶nnt). Also, note the resemblance to English  in the pairs  kann  / can and  muss  / must. This means that the modals are actually simpler to conjugate and use than other German verbs. If you remember that they have only two basic present tense forms, your life will be much easier. All of the modals work the same way:  dà ¼rfen/darf,  kà ¶nnen/kann,  mà ¶gen/mag,  mà ¼ssen/muss,  sollen/soll,  wollen/will. Modal Tricks and Peculiarities Some German modals take on a special meaning in certain contexts.  Sie kann Deutsch, for example, means She knows German. This is short for Sie kann Deutsch... sprechen/schreiben/verstehen/lesen. which means She can speak/write/understand/read German. The modal verb  mà ¶gen  is most often used in its subjunctive form:  mà ¶chte  (would like). This implies the probability, wishful thinking, or politeness common in the subjunctive. Both  sollen  and  wollen  can take on the special idiomatic meaning of it is said, its claimed, or they say.  For example,  Er will reich sein,  means He claims to be wealthy. Similarly, Sie soll Franzà ¶sin sein, means They say shes French. In the negative,  mà ¼ssen  is replaced by  dà ¼rfen  when the meaning is the prohibitive must not. Er muss das nicht tun, means He doesnt have to do that. To express, He must not do that, (not allowed to do that), the German would be,  Er darf das nicht tun. Technically, German makes the same distinction between  dà ¼rfen  (to be permitted) and  kà ¶nnen  (to be able) that English does for may and can. However, in the same way  that most English speakers in the real world use He cant go, for He may not go, (doesnt have permission), German speakers also tend to ignore this distinction. You will often find, Er kann nicht gehen, used  instead of the grammatically correct version, Er darf nicht gehen. Modals in the Past Tense In the simple past tense (Imperfekt), the modals are actually easier than in the present. All six modals add the regular past tense marker -te  to the stem of the infinitive. The four modals that have umlauts in their infinitive form, drop the umlaut in the simple past: dà ¼rfen/durfte, kà ¶nnen/konnte, mà ¶gen/mochte, and mà ¼ssen/musste. Sollen becomes sollte;  wollen  changes to wollte. Since the English could has two different meanings, it is important to be aware of which one you intend to express in German. If you want to say, we could do that, in the sense of we were able to, then you will use   wir konnten  (no umlaut). But if you mean it in the sense of we might be able to or its a possibility, then you must say,  wir kà ¶nnten  (the subjunctive form, with an umlaut, based on the past tense form). The modals are used much less frequently in their present perfect forms (Er hat das gekonnt, meaning He was able to do that.). Instead, they typically take  on a double infinitive construction (Er hat das nicht sagen wollen, meaning He didnt want to say that.).