Modal Verbs in German: können, müssen, dürfen & More

Modal verbs let you express ability, permission, obligation, and desire — the everyday ideas you need from day one. German has six of them, and they all follow the same handy sentence pattern.

The six German modal verbs

• können — can / to be able to. Ich kann schwimmen.
• müssen — must / to have to. Ich muss arbeiten.
• dürfen — may / to be allowed to. Du darfst gehen.
• sollen — should / to be supposed to. Du sollst lernen.
• wollen — to want to. Ich will schlafen.
• mögen — to like (often as möchte = would like). Ich möchte Kaffee.

The sentence pattern (this is the key)

The modal verb is conjugated in position two, and the main verb goes to the end of the sentence as an infinitive.

Ich kann heute nicht kommen. — I can’t come today.
(kann = position 2, kommen = infinitive at the end)

Conjugation note

Modal verbs are irregular in the singular — the vowel often changes and the ich and er/sie/es forms have no ending.

können → ich kann, du kannst, er kann
müssen → ich muss, du musst, er muss

müssen vs. sollen vs. dürfen

• müssen = necessity (you have no choice). Ich muss zum Arzt.
• sollen = expectation or someone’s instruction. Ich soll mehr Wasser trinken.
• dürfen = permission. Hier darf man nicht rauchen. (one may not smoke here)

A common beginner trap

möchte (would like) is the polite, everyday way to ask for things — much softer than wollen (to want). In a café, say Ich möchte einen Kaffee, not Ich will einen Kaffee, which can sound demanding.

Practice modal sentences

Want to check your sentence structure? Paste a German sentence with a modal verb into our analyzer — it shows the verb positions and explains the grammar so the pattern sticks.