German Modal Verbs
Part 1: dürfen, können, mögen
This modal-verb guide is also part of
Lektion 16 of German for Beginners.
In the following charts 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.
Lesson 16 > Modals 1 > Modals 2 > Modal Examples
Druckversion - Printer version
| 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 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 BACK > Lektion 16 of German for Beginners 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
mögen is often used in its subjunctive (möchte) "would like" form: 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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