German Modal Verbs: Können, Müssen, Dürfen

What each modal means

Modal	Expresses	Example
könnenKÖN-un	ability, possibility	Ich kann Deutsch sprechen.I can speak German.
müssenMÜS-un	necessity	Ich muss morgen arbeiten.I have to work tomorrow.
dürfenDÜR-fun	permission	Darf ich hier parken?May I park here?
sollenZOL-un	what someone else expects	Du sollst den Arzt anrufen.You’re supposed to call the doctor.
wollenVOL-un	firm wish, intention	Wir wollen ein Haus kaufen.We want to buy a house.
mögenMÖ-gun	liking (often with a noun)	Ich mag Kaffee.I like coffee.
möchtenMÖKH-tun	polite wish	Ich möchte bitte zahlen.I’d like to pay, please.

The present-tense forms

Modals break two normal rules (see the present tense): ich and er/sie/es have no ending and share the same form, and most modals change their vowel in the singular. The plural forms are regular. Choose a modal to see its table.

Yellow cards are the singular forms with a changed vowel. Sollen and möchten keep their vowel; möchten adds -e to ich and er.

Word order: the infinitive at the end

The modal and the infinitive form a verb bracket. In a question the modal comes first. After weil or dass, the modal moves to the very end, after the infinitive. A separable verb stays in one piece at the end.

The two verbs form a bracket around the rest of the sentence. English puts “come” straight after “can’t”; German makes you wait through the whole middle for kommen, so hold the modal in mind until the last word.

Statement

IchIkanncanheutetodaynichtnotkommen.come

ikh kahn HOY-tuh nikht KOM-un “I can’t come today.”

Question

Kannstcanduyoumirmehelfen?help

kahnst doo meer HEL-fun “Can you help me?”

Separable verb

IchImussmustfrühearlyaufstehen.get-up

ikh moos FRÜ OWF-shtay-un “I have to get up early.”

After weil

…weilbecauseichIarbeitenworkmuss.must

vile ikh AR-bite-un MOOS “… because I have to work.”

Two false friends

Two modals look like English words but mean something else. Read the German meaning directly from the left column.

German = I want to go.

To say the English “I will go.” = Ich werde gehen. (werden, the future helper)

German = You don’t have to come.

To say the English “You mustn’t come.” = Du darfst nicht kommen. (not allowed)

Polite requests

Ich will sounds blunt when you order or ask for something, like “I want”. Use ich möchte (I would like) instead. To ask someone else for a favour, use könnten (could) with Sie and add bitte. These are the forms you will use most in shops, restaurants and offices.

Modal verbs in the past

Ich musste, ich konnte, ich wollte

For modal verbs, Germans use the simple past (Präteritum) even in speech, not the perfect. The forms drop the umlaut and add -te.

Infinitive	ich / er	wir / sie	Meaning
können	konnte	konnten	could, was able to
müssen	musste	mussten	had to
wollen	wollte	wollten	wanted to
dürfen	durfte	durften	was allowed to
sollen	sollte	sollten	was supposed to
mögen	mochte	mochten	liked

IchImusstehad-togesternyesterdaylangelongarbeiten.work

ikh MUS-te GES-tern LANG-e AR-bai-ten · “I had to work late yesterday.”

Als Kindas a childkonntecouldichInichtnotschwimmen.swim

als KINT KON-te ikh NIKHT SHVI-men · “As a child, I couldn’t swim.”

Modals in a subordinate clause

…, weil ich arbeiten muss

After weil, dass or wenn, the conjugated verb goes to the very end, so the modal comes after the infinitive. A subordinate clause is a part of a sentence that cannot stand alone.

weil
IchIkomme nicht,come notweilbecauseichIarbeitenworkmuss.must
ikh KO-me nikht, vail ikh AR-bai-ten MUS · “I’m not coming because I have to work.”
dass
Erhesagt,saysdassthaterhenichtnotkommencomekann.can
air ZAAKT, das air nikht KO-men KAN · “He says he can’t come.”
wenn
Wennifduyouwillst,wantkönnencanwirwegehen.go
ven doo VILST, KÖ-nen veer GAY-en · “If you want, we can go.”

German modal verbs: can, must, may, should, want