Langvie / German grammar / German modal verbs müssen, dürfen and sollen
German modal verbs müssen, dürfen and sollen.
müssen, dürfen and sollen say what you must do, may do and should do.
müssen, dürfen, and sollen in the present
The verb müssen expresses a necessity (must, have to), dürfen expresses permission (may, to be allowed to), and sollen expresses an obligation or advice (should, to be supposed to). In a main clause, the conjugated modal verb sits in position 2, while the main action verb moves to the very end in its infinitive form.
| Person | müssen (must) | dürfen (may) | sollen (should) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich | muss | darf | soll |
| du | musst | darfst | sollst |
| er / sie / es | muss | darf | soll |
| wir | müssen | dürfen | sollen |
| ihr | müsst | dürft | sollt |
| sie / Sie | müssen | dürfen | sollen |
- Ich habe Fieber und ich muss ein Medikament nehmen.I have a fever and I must take a medicine.
- Du hast Husten und darfst heute nicht arbeiten.You have a cough and are not allowed to work today.
The seven modal verbs in the present
German has seven modal verbs, and every single one follows the same core rule: the ich and er/sie/es forms are identical and have no personal ending. Most modal verbs change their stem vowel in the singular, but keep their normal vowel in the plural. The ihr form always takes the regular stem with -t.
| Infinitive | ich / er, sie, es | du | wir / sie / Sie |
|---|---|---|---|
| müssen | muss | musst | müssen |
| können | kann | kannst | können |
| dürfen | darf | darfst | dürfen |
| sollen | soll | sollst | sollen |
| wollen | will | willst | wollen |
| mögen | mag | magst | mögen |
| möchten | möchte | möchtest | möchten |
- Er will heute den Arzt anrufen.He wants to call the doctor today.
- Wir möchten einen Termin haben.We would like to have an appointment.
Practice it in the course
This rule is chapter 25 of 31 in the A1 German course in Langvie, after German modal verbs können and wollen and before The German imperative. In the app the chapter goes on with 8 exercises and a short spoken conversation with an AI partner, which opens with Guten Tag! Sind Sie krank? Was haben Sie?
Choose the correct modal verb form. Er ___ heute ein Medikament nehmen. (muss / musst / müsst)
muss. The er form of müssen has no ending and is muss. He must take a medicine today.
Practice this rule in Langvie.
Chapter 25 of the A1 course, with exercises, cards and a conversation in German.