Modal Verbs

I. Theory

Modal verbs are a category of verbs that are used to indicate or describe the subject’s stance on the sentence’s main verb. Although modal verbs can function on their own at times, they are almost always found in a sentence with another verb. Here, we see examples of modals in English: I want to go to the movies. You should work tomorrow. May I speak with you? In German, we find that modal verbs are used in a similar way in terms of meaning and construction.

1. In German, the second verb remains in its infinitive form when used with a modal verb:
   
   

   Ich möchte Deutsch sprechen. I would like to speak German. Darf ich hier rauchen? May I smoke here? Willst du etwas essen. Do you want to eat something?

   
   
2. As you can see in these examples, the second verb (the infinitive) comes at the end of the sentence or clause. Therefore, all additional information (objects, adverbs, prepositions, etc.) come before the infinitive.
   
   So, the typical word order for sentences with modal verbs is the following:
   
   Statements: Subject + modal + predicate information + infinitive
   Questions: Modal + subject + predicate information + infinitive + ?
   
   

   Er will am Freitag mit seiner Freundin das Museum besuchen. He wants to visit the Museum on Friday with his girlfriend. Können wir nach der Konferenz ins Restaurant gehen? Can we go to the restaurant after the conference?

   
   

II. Conjugating Modal Verbs

All modal verbs are irregular in their conjugation. In their conjugated forms, the umlaut is omitted in the singular forms. The first and third person singular forms also take no ending -t or -e.

dürfen: permission (may)

ich	darf	wir	dürfen
du	darfst	ihr	dürft
er/sie/es	darf	sie/Sie	dürfen

können: ability (can)

ich	kann	wir	können
du	kannst	ihr	könnt
er/sie/es	kann	sie/Sie	können

müssen: necessity (must)

ich	muss	wir	müssen
du	musst	ihr	müsst
er/sie/es	muss	sie/Sie	müssen

sollen: obligation (should)

ich	soll	wir	sollen
du	sollst	ihr	sollt
er/sie/es	soll	sie/Sie	sollen

wollen: desire (want)

ich	will	wir	wollen
du	willst	ihr	wollt
er/sie/es	will	sie/Sie	wollen

mögen^*: to like

ich	mag	wir	mögen
du	magst	ihr	mögt
er/sie/es	mag	sie/Sie	mögen

* mögen is frequently seen as the standalone verb in the sentence.

III. Further Examples of Modal Verbs

Magst du Schokolade? Do you like chocolate? Ihr müsst heute Abend formelle Kleidung tragen. You must wear formal attire this evening. Willst du am Wochenende im Wald wandern gehen? Do you want to hike in the forest this weekend? Wir wollen im Sommer nach Frankreich reisen. We want to travel to France in the summer.