Conjugating German Modal Verbs Muessen, Sollen, Wollen

Conjugating German Modal Verbs Muessen, Sollen, Wollen How do you conjugate the German modal verbs  mà ¼ssen, sollen, and  wollen? See the different tenses and sample modal sentences and idioms. Modalverben - Modal Verbs PRSENS(Present) PRTERITUM(Preterite/Past) PERFEKT(Pres. Perfect) Mssen - have to, must ich mussI must, have to ich mussteI had to ich habe gemusst *I had to du musstyou must, have to du musstestyou had to du hast gemusst *you had to er/sie musshe/she must er/sie musstehe/she had to er/sie hat gemusst *he/she had to wir/Sie/sie mssenwe/you/they have to wir/Sie/sie musstenwe/you/they had to wir/Sie/sie haben gemusst *we/you/they had to ihr msstyou (pl.) must ihr musstetyou (pl.) had to ihr habt gemusst *you (pl.) had to * In the present perfect or past perfect tense with another verb, the double infinitive construction is used, as in the following examples: ihr habt sprechen mà ¼ssen you (pl.) had to speak ich hatte sprechen mà ¼ssen I had had to speak The old spelling with ß, as in ich muß or gemußt, is no longer used for forms of mà ¼ssen. For all  modals  with umlauts, the simple past (preterite/Imperfekt) has no umlaut, but the subjunctive form always has an umlaut! Sample Sentences With Mà ¼ssen Present: Ich muss dort Deutsch sprechen. I have to speak German there.Past/Preterite: Er musste es nicht tun. He didnt have to do it.Pres. Perfect/Perfekt: Wir haben mit der Bahn fahren mà ¼ssen. We had to go by train.Future/Futur: Sie wird morgen abfahren mà ¼ssen. She will have to depart tomorrow.Subjunctive/Konjunktiv: Wenn ich mà ¼sste... If I had to... Sample Idiomatic Expressions Ich muss nach Hause. I have to go home.Muss das sein? Is that really necessary?So mà ¼sste es immer sein. Thats how it should be all the time.   Sollen - should, ought to, supposed to ich sollI should ich sollteI should have ich habe gesollt *I should have du sollstyou should du solltestyou should have du hast gesollt *you should have er/sie sollhe/she should er/sie solltehe/she should have er/sie hat gesollt *he/she should have wir/Sie/sie sollenwe/you/they should wir/Sie/sie solltenwe/you/they should have wir/Sie/sie haben gesollt *we/you/they should have ihr solltyou (pl.) should ihr solltetyou (pl.) should have ihr habt gesollt *you (pl.) should have * In the present perfect or past perfect tense with another verb, the double infinitive construction is used, as in the following examples: wir haben gehen sollen we should have gone ich hatte fahren sollen I had been supposed to drive Sample Sentences With Sollen Present: Er soll reich sein. Hes supposed to be rich. / Its said that hes rich.Past/Preterite: Er sollte gestern ankommen. He was supposed to arrive yesterday.Pres. Perfect/Perfekt: Du hast ihn anrufen sollen. You should have called him.Future (in sense of): Er soll das morgen haben. Hell have that tomorrow.Subjunctive/Konjunktiv: Das httest du nicht tun sollen. You shouldnt have done that.Subjunctive/Konjunktiv: Wenn ich sollte... If I should...Subjunctive/Konjunktiv: Sollte sie anrufen... If she should (happen to) call... Sample Idiomatic Expressions Das Buch soll sehr gut sein. The book is said to be very good.Du sollst damit sofort aufhà ¶ren! Youre to stop that right now!Was soll das (heißen)? Whats that supposed to mean? Whats the idea?Es soll nicht wieder vorkommen. It wont happen again.   Wollen - want to ich willI want to ich wollteI wanted to ich habe gewollt *I wanted to du willstyou want to du wolltestyou wanted to du hast gewollt *you wanted to er/sie willhe/she wants to er/sie wolltehe/she wanted to er/sie hat gewollt *he/she wanted to wir/Sie/sie wollenwe/you/they want to wir/Sie/sie wolltenwe/you/they wanted to wir/Sie/sie haben gewollt *we/you/they wanted to ihr wolltyou (pl.) want to ihr wolltetyou (pl.) wanted to ihr habt gewollt *you (pl.) wanted to * In the present perfect or past perfect tense with another verb, the double infinitive construction is used, as in the following examples: wir haben sprechen wollen we wanted to speak ich hatte gehen wollen I had wanted to go Sample Sentences With Wollen Present: Sie will nicht gehen. She doesnt want to go.Past/Preterite: Ich wollte das Buch lesen. I wanted to read the book.Pres. Perfect/Perfekt: Sie haben den Film immer sehen wollen. They have always wanted to see the movie.Past Perfect/Plusquamperfekt: Wir hatten den Film immer sehen wollen. We had always wanted to see the movie.Future/Futur: Er wird gehen wollen. He will want to go.Subjunctive/Konjunktiv: Wenn ich wollte... If I wanted to... Sample Idiomatic Expressions Das will nicht viel sagen. Thats of little consequence. That doesnt mean much.Er will es nicht gesehen haben. He claims not to have seen it.Das hat er nicht gewollt. Thats not what he intended. See the conjugation of the other three German modal verbs  dà ¼rfen, kà ¶nnen, and mà ¶gen.

When and How to Use Brackets

When and How to Use Brackets When and How to Use Brackets When and How to Use Brackets By Maeve Maddox Reader John B. Moss asks if there are guidelines for the use of brackets. There are indeed. Academic style guides such as the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers go into such matters at great length. The most common use of brackets is to enclose explanatory matter that one adds in editing the work of another writer. They indicate that some kind of alteration has been made in the original text. 1. In quoting a passage it is often necessary to insert information that was provided elsewhere in the original text: I dont care what he [Poe] meant by it, the line sounds great but makes no sense. 2. Sometimes a word in the quotation is archaic or used in a sense that may not be familiar to the intended reader so the editor may wish to provide an explanation in brackets: Paul said he was let [hindered] hitherto. In this episode of C.S.I. her character says Gimme some bling [gaudy jewelery]. 3. Sometimes its necessary to change the original capitalization or provide a word in order to make a quotation fit grammatically into the new text: Original: He was an out-spoken old curmudgeon. Quoted form: According to Joness biographer, [h]e was an out-spoken old curmudgeon. 4. Sometimes brackets are used to enclose the dots that indicate missing words. The usual way to indicate that some words have been left out (an ellipsis) is to mark the spot with three dots (). Original: It little profits that an idle king, By this still hearth, among these barren crags, Matchd with an aged wife, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race Incorporated quotation: According to Ulysses in Tennysons poem, it little profitsan idle kingtomete and dole unequal laws unto a savage race. Some (but not all) academic writers would enclose the dots in a quotation in brackets: According to Ulysses in Tennysons poem, it little profits[]an idle king[]to[]mete and dole unequal laws unto a savage race. Another use of brackets Brackets can be used in the context of ones own writing when more than one thing needs to be set apart. For example: Watching a popular actor who usually plays good characters play a villain (like Tom Hanks in Road to Perdition [2002]) has a negative effect on many movie-goers. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Signs and Symbols You Should Know10 Types of TransitionsWhat’s the Best Way to Refer to a Romantic Partner?