Purpose

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to correctly conjugate and use three common German modal verbs.

Lesson Explanation

Modal verbs add a specific meaning to another verb, and are genuinely irregular in the present tense, with distinctive singular forms:

können (can/to be able to):  ich kann, du kannst, er kann, wir können, ihr könnt, sie können
müssen (must/to have to):     ich muss, du musst, er muss, wir müssen, ihr müsst, sie müssen
wollen (to want to):          ich will, du willst, er will, wir wollen, ihr wollt, sie wollen

A modal verb is followed by the main verb in its infinitive form, placed at the very end of the sentence — directly connecting to the separated-prefix placement from Lesson 5, both putting a meaning-bearing element at the sentence’s end: Ich kann Deutsch sprechen. (I can speak German.)

A genuinely important, specific pattern: notice ich and er/sie/es use the identical form for all three verbs (kann, muss, will) — a consistent irregularity across this whole verb category.

Practice Questions