German Modal Verbs: können, müssen, wollen and More
German has six modal verbs — können (can), müssen (must), dürfen (may), sollen (should), wollen (want), and mögen (like). They express ability, necessity, permission, or wish, and they send the main verb to the end of the sentence in its infinitive form: “Ich kann Deutsch sprechen.”
Modal verbs modify another verb — they say something about how, whether, or why an action happens. In German they work as a team: the modal verb is conjugated in the normal second position, and the main verb drops to the very end of the clause as an unchanged infinitive.
So “Ich spreche Deutsch” (I speak German) becomes “Ich kann Deutsch sprechen” (I can speak German). Notice that sprechen moves to the end and loses its ending.
Modal verbs are irregular in the singular: most change their stem vowel (ich kann, du kannst, but wir können). They also share a quirk — the ich and the er/sie/es forms are identical and take no ending: “ich muss”, “er muss”.
In everyday speech, the simple past of modals (konnte, musste, wollte) is used far more than the perfect tense, so it is worth learning those forms early.
- können — ability / possibility
- können — ich kann, du kannst, er kann
- müssen — necessity
- müssen — ich muss, du musst, er muss
- dürfen — permission
- dürfen — ich darf, du darfst, er darf
- sollen — obligation / advice
- sollen — ich soll, du sollst, er soll
- wollen — want / intention
- wollen — ich will, du willst, er will
- mögen — liking; möchte = would like
- mögen — ich mag; möchte = would like
Examples
Common mistakes
- Conjugating the main verb instead of leaving it as an infinitive: “Ich kann spreche” is wrong — it must be “Ich kann sprechen”.
- Adding an ending to the ich form: it is “ich kann”, never “ich kanne”.
- Confusing wollen (to want) with the English “will” for the future — wollen means to want, not a future marker.
- Mixing up möchte and mögen: möchte means “would like” (polite request); mögen means to like something in general.
FAQ
How many modal verbs are there in German?
Six: können, müssen, dürfen, sollen, wollen and mögen. The form möchte (“would like”) is the polite subjunctive of mögen and is often counted as a seventh in practice.
Where does the second verb go with a modal verb?
At the very end of the clause, in its infinitive form. The modal verb is conjugated and sits in second position: “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.”
Why are “ich” and “er” forms of modal verbs the same?
Modal verbs take no ending in the first- and third-person singular. So “ich kann” and “er kann” look identical — this is normal, not a mistake.