Modal verbs in German
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HideWhat is a modal verb? - Modal auxiliaries
In German as well as in the English language, there are a group of verbs named modal verbs or modal auxiliaries. Modal verbs give more information about the main verb in a sentence. They describe the main verb in a range of possibility (may) to necessity (to have to). Therefore, the content of the sentence changes, if you are switching the modal verbs.There are six modal auxiliaries in the German language.
| modal verb | explanation | usage | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| können | to be able to, can (ability) | Fähigkeiten/ Möglichkeiten | Ich kann Auto fahren. |
| müssen | to have to, must (necessity) | Pflicht/ Notwendigkeit | Ich muss arbeiten. |
| dürfen | to be allowed to, may (permission) | Erlaubnis | Ich darf früher nach Hause. |
| sollen | to be supposed to, should (obligation) | Pflicht | Ich soll mein Zimmer aufräumen. |
| wollen | to want to (intention) | Wunsch/ Absicht | Ich will verreisen. |
| mögen | to like to (inclination), may (possibility) | Zuneigung | Ich mag das Reiten. |
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Conjugation of German modal verbs (present tense)
The conjugation of modal verbs is irregular in the present tense singular, due to the fact that there are no endings in the first and third person. The plural forms are regular. Pay attention to the vowel change of modal verbs in the plural.
| können | müssen | dürfen | sollen | wollen | mögen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich | kann | muss | darf | soll | will | mag |
| du | kannst | musst | darfst | sollst | willst | magst |
| er/ sie/ es | kann | muss | darf | soll | will | mag |
| wir | können | müssen | dürfen | sollen | wollen | mögen |
| ihr | könnt | müsst | dürft | sollt | wollt | mögt |
| sie/ Sie | können | müssen | dürfen | sollen | wollen | mögen |
Examples of German modal verbs
The next sentences show you the usage of modal verbs in present tense
- Mama und Papa wollen am Wochenende in den Urlaub fahren. - Mom and dad want to go to vacation on the weekend.
- Er soll sein Zimmer aufräumen. - He is supposed to clean up his room.
- Sie kann Fahrrad fahren. - She is able to drive a bicycle.
- Du darfst bis 10 Uhr wach bleiben. - You are allowed to stay up to 10 pm.
Conjugation of German modal verbs (simple past)
There is no vowel change in the simple past, but the irregularity of the first and third person singular is existing,too.
| können | müssen | dürfen | sollen | wollen | mögen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich | konnte | musste | durfte | sollte | wollte | mochte |
| du | konntest | musstest | durftest | solltest | wolltest | mochtest |
| er/ sie/ es | konnte | musste | durfte | sollte | wollte | mochte |
| wir | konnten | mussten | durften | sollten | wollten | mochten |
| ihr | konntet | musstet | durftet | solltet | wolltet | mochtet |
| sie/ Sie | konnten | mussten | durften | sollten | wollten | mochten |
Examples of German modal verbs in simple past
- Mama und Papa wollten in den Urlaub fahren. - Mom and dad wanted to go to vacation.
- Er sollte sein Zimmer aufräumen. - He was supposed to clean up my room.
- Sie konnte Fahrrad fahren. - She was able to drive a bicycle.
- Du durftest bis 10 Uhr wach bleiben. - You were allowed to stay up until 10 pm.
Completing this lesson you should understand the modal verbs and their conjugation. Explore our exercises to train you skills.
Exercises
Training of modal verbs
Fill in the modal verbs in present tense. The modal verb and the singular or plural form of personal pronouns "sie" are specified in the brackets.
Ich Ball spielen. (können)
Er Ball spielen.(mögen)
Sie Ball spielen. (können/ plural)
Ihr Ball spielen. (dürfen)
Es Ball spielen. (sollen)
Sie Ball spielen. (dürfen/ singular)
Du Ball spielen. (wollen)
Ich Ball spielen. (sollen)
Wir Ball spielen. (dürfen)
Exercise of modal verb
Fill in the modal verbs in the simple past. The modal verb and the singular or plural form of the personal pronoun "sie" is given in the bracket.
Ich Ball spielen. (können)
Wir Ball spielen. (dürfen)
Sie Ball spielen. (mögen, plural)
Es Ball spielen. (sollen)
Er Ball spielen. (müssen)
Wir Ball spielen. (müssen)
Ihr Ball spielen. (sollen)
Ich Ball spielen. (dürfen)
Sie Ball spielen. (dürfen, singular)
Du Ball spielen. (mögen)
Exercises
Training of modal verbs
Fill in the modal verbs in present tense. The modal verb and the singular or plural form of personal pronouns "sie" are specified in the brackets.
Ich Ball spielen. (können)
Er Ball spielen.(mögen)
Sie Ball spielen. (können/ plural)
Ihr Ball spielen. (dürfen)
Es Ball spielen. (sollen)
Sie Ball spielen. (dürfen/ singular)
Du Ball spielen. (wollen)
Ich Ball spielen. (sollen)
Wir Ball spielen. (dürfen)
Exercise of modal verb
Fill in the modal verbs in the simple past. The modal verb and the singular or plural form of the personal pronoun "sie" is given in the bracket.
Ich Ball spielen. (können)
Wir Ball spielen. (dürfen)
Sie Ball spielen. (mögen, plural)
Es Ball spielen. (sollen)
Er Ball spielen. (müssen)
Wir Ball spielen. (müssen)
Ihr Ball spielen. (sollen)
Ich Ball spielen. (dürfen)
Sie Ball spielen. (dürfen, singular)
Du Ball spielen. (mögen)
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Hallo :) My name is Mihaela and I was born in Switzerland. I have a Bachleor and Master degree as German teacher and more then 5 years experience.
I love languages, because of that I speak also Croatian and English. :)
- ABOUT THE CLASS -
I offer German language lessons for A1, A2, B1, B2 level and they include everything you need: grammar, speaking, writing, pronunciation and vocabulary.
This is ideal for students who want actively participate and speak more, learn new words and exercise the grammar. Or we can learn whatever you need, because I will always adapt to your needs. :)
I will support you during your learning experience and adapt to your learning tempo.
All learning materials and exercises are included and will be provided during the lesson.
The learning material is from various books (Schritte International, Menschen, Sicher im Alltag und Beruf, Begegnungen,...).
S. M.
Mihaela has helped me along with improving my german language skills over the past nine months with great success. She has a clear structured approach but constantly adapts the lessons to your needs and interests to keep you motivated. During the lessons, she consistently adds vocabulary to the discussion, meaning that you are always learning more without the feeling of being overwhelmed with information. She is also very flexible with bookings. I can positively recommend learning german with Mihaela.
Mihaela S.
Do you want to increase your language proficiency in English or Afrikaans? Then I am just the teacher for you!
I specialize in teaching students 14 years and older, as well as adults. My focus is on teaching business English and Afrikaans, as well as academic and diplomatic style language. Whether you want to improve your English and Afrikaans speaking, listening, reading or writing skills, I'll assist you to determine your specific needs and develop bespoke lesson plans for you. I use different teaching methods and materials which include written lesson plans, videos, fun quizzes, conversation and whatever else takes our fancy to keep you interested, motivated and learning at your own pace!
I am also a certified business coach and can assist you with any issue in your working or study environment. Let's look at your career prospects, develop a winning resumé (CV), coach you on that important job interview or teach you how to write a great email or have that vital telephone conversation.
I am a published author (English language) internationally and in South Africa and can assist you with writing your business documentation or writing creatively (i.e. short stories, articles and opinion pieces).
I have over 30 years' experience in the world of work at senior management level and have worked on projects involving, inter alia, the USA, UK, Australia, Asia and Africa.
My qualifications include:
- TEFL level 5 certificate in teaching English as a foreign language
- Certificate in teaching business English
- Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA)
- B.Com. (Hons) Degree in Economics
- Coaching Certificate
- Native English and Afrikaans speaker
Let me assist you with your learning journey and let's also have fun while we learn!
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
A. S.
Madi is an English teacher from South Africa. She has had a lot of experience teaching English, especially at the business level. She counts with learning materials for different needs but only within the business level.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
Madi H.
I am a German native speaker who loves languages and am passionate about teaching others. I work as language teacher in a school, teach adults at the German Culture Center and prepare my students for all types of official language exams. I love my job and always seek to make it as much fun as possible.
A. .
Melanie gave me a three week German crash course in preparation for a A2+/B1 exam. She is well organised, patient, very knowledgeable and pedagogic. In addition to clear explanations, she has a wide variety of resources at her disposal to explain different grammar rules and concepts. I highly recommend using her services.
Melanie A.
Hello,
my name is Veronika and I am a student in Florence at the academy of fine arts. I have been in Italy for three years and I really like the Italian language. In school i learned english and during journeys i used to speak a lot of english so i'm also able to teach in english.
I am from Germany so I am a German native speaker. I have already taught German to some of my friends and would love to teach my language to more people as well. At the beginning I would like to do grammar lessons and the most used words to deepen the basic knowledge of the language. Then I will continue to have conversations in German to increase vocabulary and to give confidence in dialogue and in any case in speaking the language in real scenarios. The most important thing by learning a new language is to learn it through hearing and speaking. Being difficult at first to formulate sentences will then become easier and easier and thus you arrive at a fluent and confident way to speak the new language.
For myself I learned Italian three years ago with this method so I also know what it is like to learn a language and I can help you with my teaching to learn German that way.
I can not wait to start!
greetings Veronika
B. L.
My experience with Veronika as a teacher was and still is really good. In order to reach my goals, she has setup a structured schedule and has provided good learning material. Due to my work, I had to reschedule some of my lessons and she always showed understanding in this regards. She is very friendly and easy to talk to. I can only recommend her!
Thank you very much!!!