7.13 The modal auxiliary verbs

The use of subjunctiveIto indicate reported speech is limited to the formal written language, where it is frequent especially in newspaper reports. In other registers, and particularly in everyday speech, theindicative or subjunctive IIis used:

formal writing everyday speech

Er sagte, sie wisse es. Er hat gesagt, sie weiß es. Er hat gesagt, sie wüsste es. Er sagte, sie habe es gewusst. Er hat gesagt, sie hat es gewusst. Er hat gesagt, sie hätte es gewusst.

The six modal auxiliary verbs dürfen, können, mögen, müssen, sollen and wollen indicate the attitude of the speaker to what is being said. They are used with other verbs to express ideas like ability, permission, necessity, obligation and volition, but in practice each has a wide range of meaning which is often idiomatic.

They have a number of special features which distinguish them from other verbs, or from their English equivalents:

Their forms are quite irregular (see section 6.5). They are used with a following INFINITIVE without zu (like some of the equivalent English verbs):

Ich konnte es nicht tun. Du solltest ihn nicht ärgern.

Compare(infinitive clause):

Ich versuchte,es nicht zu tun. I could not do it. You should not annoy him/You ought not to annoy him.

I tried not to do it.

Their PERFECT tenses are formed with the INFINITIVE, not with the past participle:

Sie hat es schon immer machen wollen. She has always wanted to do it.

In SUBORDINATE CLAUSES, the modal auxiliary follows the infinitive of the main verb:

WennSie diesen Ring kaufen wollen,… Ifyou want to buy this ring …

In SUBORDINATECLAUSES with a PERFECTTENSE of the modal, the auxiliary haben precedes both infinitives:

Wennsie es hätte kaufen wollen,… If she had wanted to buy it …