German Modal Verbs
Part 2: müssen, sollen, wollen

This modal verb guide is also part of
Lektion 16 of German for Beginners.

In the following charts you'll find the most common conjugations of the six German modal verbs. The subjunctive mood and less commonly used tenses (future, future perfect, past perfect, etc.) are found on our Modal Verb Examples page, along with sample modal sentences. For an introduction to the modals and a self-scoring quiz, see our Verb Review 2 page. Also see the 20 Most-Used German Verbs, German Top 1000 (most frequently used words in reading) and our free German for Beginners course for more about German verbs and other topics.

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Lesson 16 > Modals 1 > Modals 2 > Modal Examples

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Modalverben 2 - Modal Verbs 2
PRÄSENS (Present)	PRÄTERITUM (Preterite/Past)	PERFEKT (Pres. Perfect)
MÜSSEN - have to, must
ich muss I must, have to	ich musste I had to	ich habe gemusst * I had to
du musst you must, have to	du musstest you had to	du hast gemusst * you had to
er/sie muss he/she must	er/sie musste he/she had to	er/sie hat gemusst * he/she had to
wir/Sie/sie müssen we/you/they have to	wir/Sie/sie mussten we/you/they had to	wir/Sie/sie haben gemusst * we/you/they had to
ihr müsst you (pl.) must	ihr musstet you (pl.) had to	ihr habt gemusst * you (pl.) had to
* In the present perfect or past perfect tense with another verb, the double infinitive construction is used, as in the following examples: ihr habt sprechen müssen = you (pl.) had to speak ich hatte sprechen müssen = I had had to speak Note: The old spelling with ß, as in ich muß or gemußt, is no longer used for forms of müssen. Sample Modal Sentences The 20 Most-Used German Verbs Copyright © 2003-2005 german.about.com
SOLLEN - should, ought to, supposed to
ich soll I should	ich sollte I should have	ich habe gesollt * I should have
du sollst you should	du solltest you should have	du hast gesollt * you should have
er/sie soll he/she should	er/sie sollte he/she should have	er/sie hat gesollt * he/she should have
wir/Sie/sie sollen we/you/they should	wir/Sie/sie sollten we/you/they should have	wir/Sie/sie haben gesollt * we/you/they should have
ihr sollt you (pl.) should	ihr solltet you (pl.) should have	ihr habt gesollt * you (pl.) should have
* In the present perfect or past perfect tense with another verb, the double infinitive construction is used, as in the following examples: wir haben gehen sollen = we should have gone ich hatte fahren sollen = I had been supposed to drive Sample Modal Sentences The 20 Most-Used German Verbs Copyright © 2003-2005 german.about.com
WOLLEN - want to
ich will I want to	ich wollte I wanted to	ich habe gewollt * I wanted to
du willst you want to	du wolltest you wanted to	du hast gewollt * you wanted to
er/sie will he/she wants to	er/sie wollte he/she wanted to	er/sie hat gewollt * he/she wanted to
wir/Sie/sie wollen we/you/they want to	wir/Sie/sie wollten we/you/they wanted to	wir/Sie/sie haben gewollt * we/you/they wanted to
ihr wollt you (pl.) want to	ihr wolltet you (pl.) wanted to	ihr habt gewollt * you (pl.) wanted to
* In the present perfect or past perfect tense with another verb, the double infinitive construction is used, as in the following examples: wir haben sprechen wollen = we wanted to speak ich hatte gehen wollen = I had wanted to go Sample Modal Sentences The 20 Most-Used German Verbs Copyright © 2003-2005 german.about.com

NEXT > Part 3 (Modal Examples)

BACK > Part 1

MORE > Index of German Verbs - Verb-Lexikon

Sample Modal Sentences
Modal verb examples in various tenses.

Lesson 16 - German for Beginners
More about German modal verbs.

German Verbs
Our contents page for everything related to German verbs.

The 20 Most-Used German Verbs
Ranked by frequency of use. With conjugations and examples.

German Top 1000
The most frequently used German words in reading, ranked by frequency.

German for Beginners
Our free online German course!

More German Grammar
A guide to all the grammar pages at this site, listed by category.

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