An assumption or advice can also be expressed with it.Įr soll heute noch zur Arbeit fahren. But it can also express a command, a request or a goal. This modal verb is used when a necessity is to be expressed. – My girlfriend wants to take/drive the car. This modal verb expresses an intention or a plan, but often also a wish. – I can have my vacation tomorrow.Įr kann heute nicht zur Arbeit gehen. Können is translated to: to be able to (to can) But here there is also information about skills. Like the modal verb “dürfen”, the modal verb “können” expresses possibility.

– You’re not allowed to play with my things. – She can go home earlier today.ĭu darfst nicht mit meinen Sachen spielen. So in English you would say: to be allowed to (to have the permission to) Unlike “sollen,” the auxiliary verb “dürfen” expresses a possibility or permission.

This is in the infinitive, while the modal verbs are conjugated. At the end of the sentence, you will find the main verb. Modal verbs are placed second in the sentence. Therefore, German modal verbs give the sentence a particular emphasis. ‍ Remember: VERB ALWAYS TAKES THE SECOND POSITION.In life, everything is not always black and white. As clarified in the previous step, you can play with the subject and the expression of time in the sentence while keeping the verb in the second position, but everything else (expression of cause, modality, and place) has its own place. Max is traveling to Rome by train for an exhibition next week.Ĭould every element take any position just as explained in the previous section? It turns out that the German language has a precise rule for structuring parts of speech. We covered the basic word order, but what if we want to add more detail to our sentences? Let’s say we want to say: Boss Level : Expressing more details with “TeKaMoLo” Heute gehe ich zum Arzt.Īll three are grammatically correct and you’d use one or the other depending on what you want to emphasize: that YOU are going to see a doctor, that you’re going to see a DOCTOR, or that it’s TODAY that you are going to see a doctor. Unlike many languages, German language word order can be quite flexible except for one important rule: the verb is always in the second position and acts as a glue between the parts of speech:Īll three sentences mean that you're are going to see a doctor. Where are we going next week? - Wohin fahren wir nächste Woche? Level 4. When will you come to Germany? - Wann kommst du nach Deutschland? Why are you looking for an apartment? - Warum suchen Sie eine Wohnung? What are you doing? - Was machen Sie gerade?

Modal verbs in german exercise