German Modal Verbs 1

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In the charts below 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 1 - Modal Verbs 1
PRÄSENS (Present)	PRÄTERITUM (Preterite/Past)	PERFEKT (Pres. Perfect)
DÜRFEN - be allowed/permitted, may
ich darf I may (am permitted)	ich durfte I was allowed	ich habe gedurft * I was allowed
du darfst you may	du durftest you were allowed	du hast gedurft * you were allowed
er/sie darf he/she may	er/sie durfte he/she was allowed	er/sie hat gedurft * he/she was allowed
wir/Sie/sie dürfen we/you/they may	wir/Sie/sie durften we/you/they were allowed	wir/Sie/sie haben gedurft * we/you/they were allowed
ihr dürft you (pl.) may	ihr durftet you (pl.) were allowed	ihr habt gedurft * you (pl.) were allowed
* 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 dürfen = you (pl.) were allowed to speak ich hatte sprechen dürfen = I had been allowed to speak Sample Modal Sentences The 20 Most-Used German Verbs Copyright © 2003-2005 german.about.com
KÖNNEN - be able, can
ich kann I can, am able	ich konnte I could	ich habe gekonnt * I could
du kannst you can	du konntest you could	du hast gekonnt * you could
er/sie kann he/she can	er/sie konnte he/she could	er/sie hat gekonnt * he/she could
wir/Sie/sie können we/you/they can	wir/Sie/sie konnten we/you/they could	wir/Sie/sie haben gekonnt * we/you/they could
ihr könnt you (pl.) can	ihr konntet you (pl.) could	ihr habt gekonnt * you (pl.) could
* In the present perfect or past perfect tense with another verb, the double infinitive construction is used, as in the following examples: wir haben schwimmen können = we were able to swim ich hatte schwimmen können = I had been able to swim BACK > Lektion 16 of German for Beginners Sample Modal Sentences The 20 Most-Used German Verbs Copyright © 2003-2005 german.about.com
MÖGEN - like, want, may
ich mag I like	ich mochte I liked	ich habe gemocht * I liked
du magst you like	du mochtest you liked	du hast gemocht * you liked
er/sie mag he/she likes	er/sie mochte he/she liked	er/sie hat gemocht * he/she liked
wir/Sie/sie mögen we/you/they like	wir/Sie/sie mochten we/you/they liked	wir/Sie/sie haben gemocht * we/you/they liked
ihr mögt you (pl.) like	ihr mochtet you (pl.) could	ihr habt gemocht * you (pl.) could
* In the present perfect or past perfect tense with another verb, the double infinitive construction is used, as in the following examples: wir haben schwimmen mögen = we liked to swim ich hatte schwimmen mögen = I had liked to swim mögen is often used in its subjunctive (möchte) "would like" form: Ich möchte lieber Kaffee (haben). = I would rather have coffee. Wir möchten ins Kino. = We'd like to go to the movies. Sample Modal Sentences The 20 Most-Used German Verbs Copyright © 2003-2005 german.about.com

NEXT > Modals 2 (müssen, sollen, wollen)

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 Verb Guide
Our contents page, verb index, and 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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