Key points about modal verbs in the past tense
A verb which shows ability, permission, necessity, obligation or possibility eg can, must, should, want. are used to express ability, permission, necessity, obligation or possibility.
There are six modal verbs in German: könnento be able to, müssento have to, dürfento be allowed to, wollento want to, sollenshould and mögento like to.
Modal A doing word. are used with another verb in the Is the form of the verb you will find in a dictionary before the verb is conjugated. It is the basic form of the verb. In German in infinitive ends in -en or -n and the equivalent in English is (to) to play, to go, to listen. to complete the sentence.
When talking about the past, modal verbs are used in the Used to talk about one off events in the past..
Video - Modal verbs with an infinitive
How to use the infinitive in German
When you look up a verb in the dictionary what you find is the verb in the infinitive form.
In English it’s two words - ‘to swim’ - but in German it’s just the one schwimmen.
In German, there’s a group of verbs to help you say what you like, what you can and what you have to do.
They’re called modal verbs and they always come together with a verb in the infinitive form.
Ich mag is a modal verb. it means ‘I like’.
When you put it with an infinitive - like schwimmen - you get ich mag schwimmen - ‘I like to swim’.
The other thing you need to know about modal verbs is that they send the infinitive to the end of the sentence, if it’s not there already.
Ich mag in der See schwimmen - I like to swim in the sea.
Ich mag jeden Morgen in der See schwimmen - I like to swim in the sea every morning.
Können means ‘to be able’. Ich kann - ‘I am able’ or ‘I can’.
Ich kann schwimmen - I can swim.
Müssen means ‘to have to’ or ‘must’. Ich muss - ‘I must’.
Ich muss meine Mutter anrufen - I have to call my mum.
With ich mag, ich kann and ich muss, and an infinitive, you can say lots of things that you like, can and have to do!'
Ich muss jetzt gehen!
Check your understanding
These are the six modal verbs:
Modal verbs in the past tense
Use the imperfect tense rather than the Used to express things which have happened in the past. when referring to events in the past.
Modal verbs are Also known as a strong verb which means there is a vowel change in the stem when the verb is conjugated.. This is also the case in the Used to talk about one off events in the past..
It is important to know the imperfect forms of the six modal verbs:
| modal verb | ich | du | er/sie/es |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I was able to/I could | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you were able to/you could | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it was able to/he/she/it could |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I had to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you had to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it had to |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I was allowed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you were allowed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it was allowed to |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I liked to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you liked to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it liked to |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I wanted to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you wanted to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it wanted to |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I was supposed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you were supposed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it was supposed to |
To use A verb which shows ability, permission, necessity, obligation or possibility eg can, must, should, want. to refer to events in the past, use the Used to talk about one off events in the past. of the modal verb plus an Is the form of the verb you will find in a dictionary before the verb is conjugated. It is the basic form of the verb. In German in infinitive ends in -en or -n and the equivalent in English is (to) to play, to go, to listen. verb at the end.
For example:
- Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.I wanted to travel to Swansea in the holidays.
- Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.I was not allowed to go to the party.
- Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.My father was supposed to get up at seven o’clock.
Mini quiz
What is the German translation of these sentences?
- My sister couldn’t ride a bike.
Answer: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
- I wasn’t allowed to have blue hair.
Answer: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
- We were supposed to recycle the paper.
Answer: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
- I had to help at home.
Answer 4: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
- The children wanted to play in the park.
Answer: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
Higher: Modal verbs in the past tense
It is also necessary to know how to use modal verbs in the imperfect tense for all Is the person or thing doing the action.:
| modal verb | ich | du | er/sie/es | wir | ihr | Sie | sie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I was able to/I could | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you were able to/you could | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it was able to/he/she/it could | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we were able to/we could | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (plural) were able to/could | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (formal) were able to/could | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they were able to/could |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I had to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you had to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it had to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we had to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (plural) had to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (formal) had to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they had to |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I was allowed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you were allowed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it was allowed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we were allowed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (plural) were allowed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (formal) were allowed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they were allowed to |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I liked to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you liked to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it liked to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we liked to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (plural) liked to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (formal) liked to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they liked to |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I wanted to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you wanted to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it wanted to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we wanted to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (plural) wanted to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (formal) wanted to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they wanted to |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I was supposed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you were supposed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she/it was supposed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we were supposed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (plural) were supposed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you (formal) were supposed to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they were supposed to |
To use modal verbs to refer to events in the past, the imperfect form of the modal verb is need plus an infinitive verb at the end.
Examples:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.We were not allowed to play football.
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.They did not have to go to school.
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.Mrs Schmidt, were you able to sleep?
Mini quiz
What is the German translation of these sentences?
- We were not allowed to watch TV.
Answer: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
- The children had to be quiet.
Answer: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
Quiz
Practise what you've learned about modal verbs with this quiz.
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