Konjunktiv 2 with Modal Verbs

In this lesson you will learn how and why to use modal verbs in the Konjunktiv 2. Grab a notebook and a pen and let’s get started.

All Konjunktiv 1 & Konjunktiv 2 Lessons

Konjunktiv 1 vs Konjunktiv 2

Konjunktiv 1 Explained

Konjunktiv 2 Basics with würden

Konjunktiv 2 with hätte & wäre 

Konjunktiv 2 with Special Verbs

Konjunktiv 2 with Modal Verbs 

Konjunktiv 2 Listening Comprehension - Alternative Realities

Polite Requests with Konjunktiv 2 - Konjunktiv 2 Listening Comprehension

Modal Verbs Refresher

For a quick refresher, modal verbs are verbs that change the way the main verb acts within a sentence. There is probably a more complicated way to explain this, but that’s the general idea.

You can go from a sentence like “Ich gehe ins Kino.” to “Ich will ins Kino gehen.” There is a huge difference between going to the movies and wanting to go to the movies. While both sentences use “gehen” as the main verb, the modal verb “wollen” changes the sentence entirely.

Modal verbs in German include: mögen, müssen, dürfen, können, sollen and wollen.

Konjunktiv 2 Form of "mögen"

You are likely already familiar with the Konjunktiv 2 version of “mögen”, as it is often used in polite requests and is usually taught alongside the other modal verbs as if it were its own verb. That form is “möchten”.

In order to create this, we took the forms of the verb “mögen” in the Präteritum tense and added umlauts to every form. “ich mag” becomes “ich mochte” in the past and “ich möchte” in Konjunktiv 2. The rest of the Konjunktiv 2 forms of “mögen” are as follows:

ich möchte - I would like
du möchtest - you would like
er, sie, es möchte - he, she, it would like
wir möchten - we would like
ihr möchtet - you would like
sie, Sie möchten - they, you would like

Other Modal Verbs in Konjunktiv 2

Since you are probably already familiar with this form of “mögen”, I’m not going to dwell on that any further. It is a great way to think about the forms of the other modal verbs, however. Start with the Präteritum form of the verb.
müssen - musste
dürfen - durfte
können - konnte
sollen - sollte
wollen - wollte

Then add an umlaut to everything except sollten and wollten. I’ll explain why in a bit.

ich müsste - I would have to
du müsstest - you would have to
er, sie, es müsste - he, she, it would have to
wir müssten - we would have to
ihr müsstet - you would have to
sie, Sie müssten - they, you would have to

ich dürfte - I would be allowed to
du dürftest - you would be allowed to
er, sie, es dürfte - he, she, it would be allowed to
wir dürften - we would be allowed to
ihr dürftet - you would be allowed to
sie, Sie dürften - they, you would be allowed to

ich könnte - I could
du könntest - you could
er, sie, es könnte - he, she, it could
wir könnten - we could
ihr könntet - you could
sie, Sie könnten - they, you could

What's up with "sollen" and "wollen"?

ich sollte - I should
du solltest - you should
er, sie, es sollte - he, she, it should
wir sollten - we should
ihr solltet - you should
sie, Sie sollten - they, you should

ich wollte - I would want
du wolltest - you would want
er, sie, es wollte - he, she, it would want
wir wollten - we would want
ihr wolltet - you would want
sie, Sie wollten - they, you would want

I said I would explain why sollen and wollen don’t get umlauts in Konjunktiv 2. First, it just sounds weird and would be clunky. Ich wöllte? Er söllte? It doesn’t exactly slide off the tongue.

The second reason is because “wollen” is never going to be used like this. The only time that contrary to reality “wanting” can happen is when talking about the deceased. For example:

Mein Vater würde wohl wollen, dass ich ein Motorrad kaufe. -
My father would probably have wanted me to buy a motorcycle.

Notice that I used “würde” instead of “wollte”? That’s because it would be ambiguous. It could have been interpreted as your father told you before he died that you should buy a motorcycle, but that isn’t what I am trying to express here. There was no explicit knowledge of his wishes with regards to your purchasing a motorcycle. We are purely guessing here.

The bottom line is that there are better ways to express whatever you might have wanted to say using “wollen” in Konjunktiv 2. It just isn’t used.

“sollen” goes down a different path.

The Konjunktiv 2 has long been associated with polite requests. That is exactly what “sollen” does. It makes polite recommendations for people. You can tell someone what they should do. This looks exactly like the past tense, but context is king here. It allows us to readily recognize the difference between past and Konjunktiv 2.

There is also a bit of a “who cares” factor involved with “sollen” in Konjunktiv 2. In the end, does it matter if you are saying “he shouldn’t go” or “he shouldn’t have gone”? Not really. Here are a few examples:

Sollten wir nach Hause fahren? -
Should we have driven home? (Should we drive home?)

In each of these sentences, no one cares which one it is. Either the action is already over and you drove home and now you are questioning this decision or you have yet to leave and you are contemplating the idea of driving home.

Context will tell you which one is meant, but the grammar doesn’t matter here, because the end result is the same.

There is a third context. It could be a past, recommended, requested. Were we requested to drive home? (while not home yet)

Solltet ihr eure Mutter fragen? -
Were you supposed to ask your mother? (Should you ask your mother?)

This one is even more on the nose. If you assume it was the past tense (Were you supposed to ask your mother?), the implication is that you should call your mother. If you assume the Konjunktiv 2 (Should you ask your mother?), it is explicitly telling you to ask your mother. Either way, when you hear the German sentence, you would go ask your mother.

Using Modal Verbs in Konjunktiv 2

So we have crossed “mögen”, “wollen” and “sollen” off our list. Let’s see how we can use the other modal verbs to form Konjunktiv 2 examples.

Was wäre, wenn ich hier arbeiten wollte? Was müsste ich tun? -
What would happen if I wanted to work here? What would I have to do?

Sie müssten dieses Formular ausfüllen. -
You would have to fill out this form.

Why not just use “müssen” in this sentence? I assume that the context of this sentence required Konjunktiv 2. The customer is asking what it would take for them to apply for a job. They didn’t say they wanted to apply for the job.

They simply asked what it might be, if they were to apply for the job. It would be natural to continue the conversation in Konjunktiv 2, because the premise was presented by the customer in Konjunktiv 2.

Ich dürfte kein Eis essen, wenn ich laktoseintolerant wäre. -
I wouldn’t be allowed to eat ice cream if I were lactose intolerant.

Dürftest du mit mir ins Kino gehen, wenn ich deinen Vater fragen würde? -
Would you be allowed to go to the movies with me, if I were to ask your father?

When you use “können” in Konjunktiv 2, it is most likely to request something in German.

Könnten Sie mir bitte zeigen, wo der Bahnhof ist? -
Could you please show me where the train station is?

Könntest du die Tür bitte zumachen? -
Could you please close the door?

You can use it in the traditional Konjunktiv 2 ways, however. For example:

Er könnte schneller fahren, wenn er einen Audi gekauft hätte. -
He could drive faster if he would have bought an Audi.

Wir könnten nach dem Film ins Restaurant gehen. -
We could go to the restaurant after the film.

The main thing that you need to take away from all of this is that you conjugate the modal verbs in the forms I gave you earlier and then put the other verb at the end of the sentence or clause like you would any other time you use a modal verb.

To talk about what someone could have done or would have been allowed to do in the past, you need a different construction.

It is called a double infinitive and does exactly what you think it does. You use the Konjunktiv 2 forms of “haben” plus the infinitive forms of the main verb and the modal verb. For example:

Du hättest ins Kino gehen dürfen, wenn du dein Zimmer aufgeräumt hättest. -
You would have been allowed to go to the movies, if you would have cleaned your room.

Er hätte den Boden trocknen können, wenn es ein sauberes Tuch irgendwo im Haus gäbe. -
He could have dried off the floor, if there were a clean towel anywhere in the house.

All Konjunktiv 1 & Konjunktiv 2 Lessons

Konjunktiv 1 vs Konjunktiv 2

Konjunktiv 1 Explained

Konjunktiv 2 Basics with würden

Konjunktiv 2 with hätte & wäre 

Konjunktiv 2 with Special Verbs

Konjunktiv 2 with Modal Verbs 

Konjunktiv 2 Listening Comprehension - Alternative Realities

Polite Requests with Konjunktiv 2 - Konjunktiv 2 Listening Comprehension