Modal verbs: müssen

müssen - to have to/ must

Present Tense		Imperfect Tense
ich muss	I have to/ must	ich musste	I had to
du musst	you have to	du musstest	you had to
er/sie/es muss	he/she/it has to	er/sie/es musste	he/she/it had to
wir müssen	we have to	wir mussten	we had to
ihr müsst	you (pl) have to	ihr musstet	you (pl) had to
sie müssen	they have to	sie mussten	they had to

Past Participle: gemusst

Example:

Er muss auf Arbeit gehen.                                  He must go to work.

Sie müssen das Zimmer aufräumen.                 They have to tidy up the room.

Task

Learn the forms.

Modal verbs: dürfen

dürfen - to be allowed to

Present Tense		Imperfect Tense
ich darf	I am allowed to	ich durfte	I was allowed to
du darfst	you are allowed to	du durftest	you were allowed to
er/sie/es darf	he/she/it is allowed to	er/sie/es durfte	he/she/it was allowed to
wir dürfen	we are allowed to	wir durften	we were allowed to
ihr dürft	you (pl) are allowed to	ihr durftet	you (pl) were allowed to
sie dürfen	they are allowed to	sie durften	they were allowed to

Past Participle: gedurft

Example:

Er darf fernsehen.                                      He is allowed to watch TV.

Wir dürfen nicht so viel essen.                 We are not allowed to eat so much.

Task

Learn the forms.

Modal verbs: sollen

sollen - to be supposed to/ should

Present Tense		Imperfect Tense
ich soll	I am supposed to	ich sollte	I was supposed to
du sollst	you are supposed to	du solltest	you were supposed to
er/sie/es soll	he/she/it is supposed to	er/sie/es sollte	he/she/it was supposed to
wir sollen	we are supposed to	wir sollten	we were supposed to
ihr sollt	you (pl) are supposed to	ihr solltet	you (pl) were supposed to
sie sollen	they are supposed to	sie sollten	they were supposed to

Past Participle: gesollt (or sollen when with an infinitive)

Example:

Er soll das Essen kochen.                        He is supposed to make dinner.

Wir sollen nicht so viel trinken.                We are not supposed to drink so much.

Task

Learn the forms.

Modal verbs: wollen

wollen - to want to

Present Tense		Imperfect Tense
ich will	I want to	ich wollte	I wanted to
du willst	you want to	du wolltest	you wanted to
er/sie/es will	he/she/it wants to	er/sie/es wollte	he/she/it wanted to
wir wollen	we want to	wir wollten	we wanted to
ihr wollt	you (pl) want to	ihr wolltet	you (pl) wanted to
sie wollen	they want to	sie wollten	they wanted to

Past Participle: gewollt

Example:

Er will nach Hause gehen.                                    He wants to go home.

Wir wollen nicht nach Glasgow fahren.               We don’t want to go to Glasgow.

Task

Learn the forms.

Modal verbs: können

There are six modal verbs in German. They are können (to be able to), wollen (to want to), dürfen (to be allowed to), mögen (to like), müssen (to have to) and sollen (to be supposed to).  

Their conjugation differs slightly from the other verbs (the ich and er forms are identical) and they are always used in combination with another verb. Modal verbs inform us about the speaker’s attitude or feelings with regards to the main verb of the sentence.

Example:

Er muss nach Hause gehen.                               He has to go home.

Wir können nicht nach Wales fahren.                 We cannot go to Wales.

können - to be able to/ can

Present Tense		Imperfect Tense
ich kann	I am able to / can	ich konnte	I was able to
du kannst	you are able to	du konntest	you were able to
er/sie/es kann	he/she/it is able to	er/sie/es konnte	he/she/it was able to
wir können	we are able to	wir konnten	we were able to
ihr könnt	you (pl) are able to	ihr konntet	you (pl) were able to
sie können	they are able to	sie konnten	they were able to

Past Participle: gekonnt

Task

Fill in the gaps.

1. So ......... es nicht weitergehen.                         It can’t go on like this.

2. Ich ............ das nicht lessen.                             I cannot read that.

3. ............... wir nach Hause gehen?                    Can we go home?

4. Meine Eltern ................ mir helfen.                   My parents can help me.

5. Warum ............... du nicht mitkommen?            Why can’t you come along?

Answer key

1. kann

2. kann

3. können

4. können

5. kannst