The Subjunctive Mood of Verbs
In this lesson of the Learn German course, you'll learn how to use the subjunctive mood of German verbs. In German this is called the konjunctiv.
You'll also learn some more useful German verbs. Online flashcards and a quiz are included in the lesson to help you learn these verbs.
Grammar
Subjunctive
The subjunctive mood is used to indicate uncertainty, a hypothetical situation, a situation contrary to reality, or to make a request more polite. For example:
- I would go if I had enough money.
- If I were you, I would go.
- He talks as if he were really important.
- Would you get me a coffee?
The subjunctive has two forms in German, konjunktiv I and konjunktiv II. The konjunktiv I form can be used when reporting what someone else said. The konjunktive II form is much more common in conversational German and is used to:
- make a polite request
- make a conditional statement
- indicate a hypothetical situation.
Although all verbs have a konjunktiv II form, most verbs use the konjunktiv II form of werden as a helper verb, along with the infinitive of the verb.
The following table shows how to create the conditional of machen using the konjunctiv 2 form of werden.
| machen | make |
|---|---|
| ich würde machen | I would make |
| du würdest machen | you would make |
| er/sie/es würde machen | he/she/it would make |
| wir würden machen | we would make |
| ihr würdet machen | you would make (plural) |
| sie würden machen | they would make |
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Konjunktive II of other verbs
Along with werden, there are a few other verbs that are commonly used in the Konjunktiv II form.
The konjunktiv II form of the German verbs sein (would be) and haben (would have) is commonly used. The following table shows the konjunktiv II forms of these verbs.
| sein | haben | |
|---|---|---|
| ich | wäre | hätte |
| du | wärst | hättest |
| er/sie/es | wäre | hätte |
| wir | wären | hätten |
| ihr | wärt | hättet |
| ihr | wären | hätten |
Examples
| Ich würde es kaufen, wenn ich genug Geld hätte. | I would buy it if I had enough money. |
| Dann würde ich nicht gehen. | Then I wouldn't go. |
| Dann hätte ich mehr Zeit. | Then I would have more time. |
| Wenn ich du wäre, würde ich ___. | If I were you, I would ___. |
The German modal verbs are also often used in the konjunktiv II form. The konjunktive II forms of wollen and sollen are identical to the simple past tense.
| dürfen | können | mögen | müssen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich | dürfte | könnte | möchte | müsste |
| du | dürftest | könntest | möchtest | müsstest |
| er/sie/es | dürfte | könnte | möchte | müsste |
| wir | dürften | könnten | möchten | müssten |
| ihr | dürftet | könntet | möchtet | müsstet |
| sie | dürften | könnten | möchten | müssten |
Reported Speech
When reporting what someone else said, the Konjunktiv I form of the verb is sometimes used. It is mostly used in more formal speech such as is used in news reports. It is used much less in conversational German.
The following table shows the Konjunktiv I form of kommen. All verbs except sein follow the same pattern.
| ich komme |
| du kommest |
| er/sie/es komme |
| wir kommen |
| ihr kommet |
| sie kommen |
The verb sein is irregular in the konjunktiv I and is formed as follows.
| ich sei |
| du seist |
| er/sie/es sei |
| wir seien |
| ihr seid |
| sie seien |
Examples
| Er sagt, dass er nächstes Jahr nach Berlin fliegen wolle. | He says, that he wants to fly to Berlin next year. |
| Sie sagt, dass Hamburg einen wirklich tollen hafen habe. | She says, that Hamburg has a really great harbor. |
| Sie meint, sie komme morgen. | She says, she'll come tomorrow. |
German Vocabulary
| bauen | build |
| binden (band, gebunden) | bind, tie |
| bitten um (bat, gebeten) | ask for |
| brechen (brach, gebrochen) | break |
| brennen (brannte, gebrannt) | burn |
| decken | cover |
| drücken | press |
| flüstern | whisper |
| fragen | ask |
| genießen (genoss, genossen) | enjoy |
| gießen (goss, gegossen) | pour |
| gleiten | glide |
| graben (grub, gegraben) | dig |
| greifen nach (griff, gegriffen) | grasp at, grab at, reach for |
| hassen | hate |
| kaufen | buy |
| kochen | cook |
| lehnen | lean |
| lieben | love |
| retten | save, rescue |
| rollen | roll |
| rufen (rief, gerufen) | call (out) |
| rutschen | slide, slip |
| schieben | push, shove |
| schleppen | drag, tow |
| schreien | shout, scream |
| schütteln | shake |
| schweben | float, drift |
| schwimmen (schwamm, geschommen) | swim |
| sparen | save (money, time) |
| spielen | play |
| treten (trat, getreten) | step, kick |
| trocknen | dry |
| (sich) verlangsamen | slow down |
| wandern | hike, wander |
| warten auf | wait for |
| wechseln | change, switch, exchange |
| wehen | blow (wind) |
| wundern | wonder |
| wünschen | wish |
| zeichnen | draw |
| benutzen | use |
Flashcards
This section includes flashcards to help you learn the German verbs introduced in this lesson.
Quiz
This quiz covers the German verbs introduced in this lesson. Each time you take the quiz the questions will be a bit different.