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
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