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German Modal Verbs
die Modalverben
☰ List of all topics in the level A1
This lesson contains topics:
- What is a modal verb?
- Sentence structure with modal verbs
- German modal verb conjugation
- Questions with modal verbs in german
German A1 Book
A self-study guide for the A1 level
1. What is a modal verb?
A modal verb is an auxiliary verb that expresses necessity, possibility, ability, permission, request, capacity, suggestions, order, or obligation.
Examples of English modal verbs are: must, shall, will, should, would, can, could, may, and might.
2. Sentence structure with modal verbs
When a sentence has a modal verb, the modal verb occupies second place in the sentence and pushes its dependent verb to the final position in the infinitive form.
The German language has the following six modal verbs:
dürfen
Dürfen means "to be allowed to" (in the sense of permission).
Examples:
Wir dürfen gehen.
Sie dürfen morgen kommen.
können
The English verb "can" is the closest translation of "können." It conveys a sense of ability (the ability to do something). "Können" is also employed to indicate permission in certain contexts.
Examples:
Wir können gehen.
Sie können morgen kommen.
müssen
"Müssen" conveys a sense of obligation. The English translation of "müssen" is "to have to." The English modal verb "must" is the closest equivalent to "müssen."
Examples:
Wir müssen gehen.
Sie müssen morgen kommen.
mögen
"Mögen" conveys a sense of desire. The English translation of the modal verb "mögen" is "to like to."
The past form of "mögen," which is "möchten" (meaning "would like to"), is more commonly used than "mögen." We will delve into the explanation of "möchten" after discussing the past tense.
Examples:
Wir mögen schokolade.
Sie mögen die Kunst.
sollen
"Sollen" translates to "to be supposed to." The closest equivalent in English is the modal verb "should."
Examples:
Wir sollen gehen.
Sie sollen morgen kommen.
wollen
"Wollen" indicates intention. The closest English translation is "to want to." Wollen conveys a stronger desire than "mögen."
Examples:
Wir wollen gehen.
Sie wollen morgen kommen.
3. German modal verb conjugation
Modal verbs are irregular verbs, meaning they exhibit irregularities in the present tense when used in the singular form but behave like regular verbs in the plural form. Modal verbs follow the conjugation pattern of the irregular verb "wissen."
Please see lesson 8 (Present Tense) to learn more about regular and irregular verbs.
3.1 Conjugation of modal verbs in present tense
Please note that "Sie" (with a capital "S") is used as the second-person polite form, both in singular and plural pronouns (akin to "you" in English). On the other hand, "sie" (with a lowercase "s") is employed as the third-person singular feminine pronoun (similar to "she" in English) and as the third-person plural pronoun (akin to "they" in English).
dürfen | können | müssen | mögen | sollen | wollen | |
ich (I) |
darf
|
kann
|
muss
|
mag
|
soll
|
will
|
du (you singular) |
darfst
|
kannst
|
musst
|
magst
|
sollst
|
willst
|
er/es/sie (he/it/she) |
darf
|
kann
|
muss
|
mag
|
soll
|
will
|
wir (we) |
dürfen
|
können
|
müssen
|
mögen
|
sollen
|
wollen
|
ihr (you plural) |
dürft
|
könnt
|
müsst
|
mögt
|
sollt
|
wollt
|
sie (they) |
dürfen
|
können
|
müssen
|
mögen
|
sollen
|
wollen
|
Sie (you polite) |
dürfen
|
können
|
müssen
|
mögen
|
sollen
|
wollen
|
4. Questions with modal verbs in german
4.1 Questions without interrogative pronouns
If the question is without an interrogative pronoun,
- The modal verb occupies first place in the question sentence.
- The second element is the subject, and
- The dependent verb is the last element.
Dürfen wir gehen?
(May we go? / Are we allowed to go?)
Dürfen wir gehen oder nicht?
(May we go or not? / Are we allowed to go or not?)
Können wir gehen?
(Can we go?)
Mögen Sie die Kunst?
(Do you like the art?)
Please note the capitalized "Sie", which means "you" in the polite form.
Mögen sie die Kunst?
(Do they like art?)
Mag sie die Kunst?
(Does she like the art?)
4.2 Questions with interrogative pronouns
If the question has an interrogative pronoun,
- The first place is reserved for the interrogative pronoun.
- The modal verb comes after the interrogative pronoun as a second element in the sentence. The rest of the sentence structure remains the same.
Wann dürfen wir gehen?
(When are we allowed to go?)
Wann können wir gehen? (When can we go?)
Video summary of the above topic
Vocabulary building
Wortschatz (vocabulary) und Erklärungen (explanations)
reinkommen (to come in)
für (for) (preposition)
tun (to do something)
Conjugation of "tun" is : ich tue, du tust, er/es/sie tut, wir tun, ihr tut, sie tun.
The verb "tun" has rare usage in German. Only frequent use is in the sentence, "Was kann ich für Sie tun?" (What can I do for you?). Though we can use the verb "machen" (to do) here i.e. "Was kann ich für Sie machen?" but it's more polite to use "tun".
helfen (to help) (verb)
die Hilfe (help) (noun)
ein paar (a few / some)
das Medikament (medicine / drug)
die Medikamente (medicines / drugs)
"die Medikamente" in used in sence of medical drugs. Illegal drugs are "Drogen".
kaufen (to buy) (verb)
einkaufen
das Einkaufen
Warum kaufen Sie so viele Medikamente?
Wir gehen einkaufen.
das Einkaufszentrum
na ja (well, oh well)
stehen (to stand / also used to point something. In this dialog verb “stehen” is used to show the name of the medicine.)
Das steht hier (here it is. In this dialog we have used “Hier steht das” to point the place where the name of medicine is written)
das Jahr (year)
Das Kind ist fünf Jahre alt. (The child is five years old.)
Das Rezept (prescription [PHARM.], recipe)
sowas (like this)
gefährlich (dangerous) (adjective)
die Gefahr (danger) (noun)
aufpassen (to pay attention / to be careful)
seltsam (strange)
stimmen (to be right / to vote)
nicht (not)
Etwas stimmt nicht. (Something is not correct.)
Ich denke, etwas stimmt nicht. (I think something is wrong.)
Alles stimmt. (All is right/ All is ok.)
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