The forms: würde, and the verbs with their own
The special forms come from the simple past: take the past stem, add an umlaut where possible, and add -e. Hatte becomes hätte, war becomes wäre, konnte becomes könnte. For all other verbs, würde + infinitive is normal and correct.
würde · + infinitive The all-purpose form. Add any infinitive at the end of the sentence.
Politeness: the everyday use
The Konjunktiv II softens a request, just as English “could you” is softer than “can you”. In shops, offices and emails, this is the expected register.
Unreal if-sentences: now and in the past
Both halves of an unreal condition use the Konjunktiv II. For the past, use hätte or wäre + participle, exactly like the perfect tense with a Konjunktiv helper. Remember the verb-at-the-end rule after wenn.
Now: unreal presentSomething that is not true at the moment.
“If I were rich, I’d buy a house.”ven ikh RYKH VAIR-uh, VÜR-duh ikh ine HOWS KOW-fun
“If you had more time, we could travel.”ven doo mair TSITE HET-ust, KÖN-tun veer RY-zun
WennifichIreichrichwäre,werewürdewouldichIeinaHaushousekaufen.buy
WennifduyoumehrmoreZeittimehättest,hadkönntencouldwirwereisen.travel
Past: unreal pastSomething that did not happen.
“If I’d known that, I would have come.”ven ikh das guh-VOOST HET-uh, VAIR-uh ikh guh-KOM-un
“We almost missed the train.”veer HET-un dayn TSOOK FAST fair-PAST
WennifichIdasthatgewusstknownhätte,hadwärewould-beichIgekommen.come
Wirwehättenwould-havedentheZugtrainfastalmostverpasst.missed
Wishes, advice and als ob
Wishes Wenn … nur or doch, with the verb at the end: “if only”.
Advice An deiner Stelle würde ich …: “in your place I would …”.
Als ob As if: the verb goes to the end, in the Konjunktiv II.
What would you do with a year off?
Two colleagues imagine a sabbatical. Konjunktiv forms are in red. Every word has its English meaning underneath.
Jana
vahs VÜR-dust doo mit INE-um YAHR FRY MAH-khun “What would you do with a year off?” Why: Würde + infinitive for most verbs.
WaswhatwürdestwouldduyoumitwitheinemaJahryearfreifreemachen?do
Tom
ikh VÜR-duh SHPAH-nish LAIR-nun oont doorkh ZÜT-ah-may-ree-kah RYE-zun “I’d learn Spanish and travel around South America.” Why: One würde can serve two infinitives.
IchIwürdewouldSpanischSpanishlernenlearnundanddurchthroughSüdamerikaSouth-Americareisen.travel
Jana
dahs VAIR-uh SHÖN. ikh HET-uh AH-ber AHNGST, MINE-un JOP tsoo fair-LEE-run “That would be lovely. But I’d be afraid of losing my job.” Why: Wäre and hätte, never würde sein or würde haben.
Dasthatwärewould-beschön.lovelyIchIhättewould-haveaberbutAngst,fearmeinenmyJobjobzutoverlieren.lose
Tom
ven dee FEER-mah es air-LOW-bun VÜR-duh, KÖN-tust doo dah-NAHKH tsoo-RÜK-kom-un “If the company allowed it, you could come back afterwards.” Why: Unreal condition: würde in the wenn-clause, könntest in the main clause.
WennifdietheFirmacompanyesiterlaubenallowwürde,wouldkönntestcouldduyoudanachafterwardszurückkommen.come-back
Jana
ven ikh noor MOO-ti-ger VAIR-uh “If only I were braver!” Why: Wenn … nur + Konjunktiv II: a wish.
WennifichInuronlymutigerbraverwäre!were