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German grammar · A1

German Modal Verbs: Können, Müssen, Wollen and the Rest

Modal verbs express ability, obligation, permission and intention. There are six of them, they all behave the same way grammatically, and together they unlock most of what you need to say at A1 beyond simple statements of fact.

The six, and what they actually mean

können — can, to be able to. müssen — must, to have to. wollen — to want to. dürfen — to be allowed to. sollen — should, to be supposed to. mögen — to like, most often met as möchte, meaning would like.

Two are routinely confused. Wollen is a blunt statement of intention and can sound abrupt when ordering something; möchte is the polite form and is what you should use in a shop or restaurant. And dürfen is about permission, not ability — Ich darf nicht means I am not allowed to, not I cannot.

They send the main verb to the end

A modal verb takes the second position in the sentence and the main verb goes to the very end, in its infinitive form. Ich kann gut Deutsch sprechen. Wir müssen morgen früh aufstehen.

This bracket — modal near the front, infinitive at the back — is one of the defining shapes of German word order, and it is the same shape you will meet again with the perfect tense and the future.

The ich and er forms are identical

Modal verbs take no ending in the first and third person singular: ich kann and er kann, ich muss and er muss. Adding the -t you would expect from a regular verb is a very common error.

Most of them also change their stem vowel in the singular: können → ich kann, müssen → ich muss, dürfen → ich darf. The plural forms return to the vowel of the infinitive.

Examples

• Ich kann gut Gitarre spielen.I can play guitar well.
• Wir müssen jetzt nach Hause gehen.We must go home now.

Mistakes to avoid

The two recurring faults are adding a third-person -t to a modal, and leaving the main verb next to the modal instead of sending it to the end of the sentence.

• ✗ Ich kann sprechen Deutsch.✓ Ich kann Deutsch sprechen.
• ✗ Ich kanne Deutsch.✓ Ich kann Deutsch.
• ✗ Ich will einen Kaffee. (im Restaurant)✓ Ich möchte einen Kaffee, bitte.

How this is tested in the exam

Modals are what let you make requests, state rules and explain constraints, which is exactly what Sprechen Teil 3 asks for when you make and respond to a request from a picture card. In Hören, announcements and phone messages depend on them: whether you must, may or cannot do something is frequently the answer.

Frequently asked questions

What are the six German modal verbs?

können, müssen, wollen, dürfen, sollen and mögen. Möchte, meaning would like, is a form of mögen and is used constantly in everyday German.

Where does the main verb go with a modal verb?

At the end of the sentence, in the infinitive. The modal takes second position: Ich kann heute nicht kommen.

What is the difference between wollen and möchten?

Wollen is a direct statement of what you want and can sound abrupt. Möchte is the polite form and is what you use when ordering or requesting something.

Why is there no -t on er kann?

Modal verbs take no ending in the ich and er/sie/es forms, so both are identical. Ich kann and er kann are both correct as they stand.