Intermatik-Kapitel 5

KAPITEL 5 | TEIL 3 - PRESENT PERFECT TENSE: MODAL VERBS |

A. The present perfect tense of modal verbs (Das Perfekt mit Modalverben)

There are six German modal verbs. Modals always take haben as the helping verb in the present perfect tense. The past participles of modal verbs are formed as follows:

dürfen --> gedurft (to be allowed to)
können --> gekonnt (to be able to)
mögen --> gemocht (to like)
müssen --> gemusst (to have to)
sollen --> gesollt (to be supposed to)
wollen --> gewollt (to want)

Der Großvater meiner Freundin ist gestorben.
My girlfriend's grandfather died.

Das tut mir wirklich leid. Ich habe ihn sehr gemocht.
I am really sorry. I liked him very much.
Intermatik Audio: kap5/k5-3a-s2

You may recall that German modal verbs are usually used in conjunction with a second verb as in the example below. The modal verb is the conjugated verb form (will) and the second verb is in the infinitive at the end of the clause (kennen lernen).

Er will die Welt kennenlernen.

The present perfect tense for such sentence constructions is formed with the helping verb haben. In such a case both verbs appear in the infinitive and the modal verb is in the last position in the sentence. Such a construction is called double infinitive.

Review the examples carefully. Compare the verb formations in English and in German. Note that the present perfect in German is translated with a simple past tense in English.

Er will die Welt kennenlernen.
He wants to get to know the world.
Intermatik Audio: kap5/k5-3a-s3
Er hat die Welt kennen lernen wollen.
He wanted to get to know the world.
Intermatik Audio: kap5/k5-3a-s4

While it is important for you to recognize these forms and to know what they mean, the simple past tense (Er wollte die Welt kennen lernen) is used much more frequently than the present perfect tense with modals, even in conversational speech.

		KAPITEL 5 \| TEIL 3 - PRESENT PERFECT TENSE: MODAL VERBS \|


		A. The present perfect tense of modal verbs (Das Perfekt mit Modalverben) There are six German modal verbs. Modals always take haben as the helping verb in the present perfect tense. The past participles of modal verbs are formed as follows: dürfen --> gedurft (to be allowed to) können --> gekonnt (to be able to) mögen --> gemocht (to like) müssen --> gemusst (to have to) sollen --> gesollt (to be supposed to) wollen --> gewollt (to want) Der Großvater meiner Freundin ist gestorben. My girlfriend's grandfather died. Das tut mir wirklich leid. Ich habe ihn sehr gemocht. I am really sorry. I liked him very much. Intermatik Audio: kap5/k5-3a-s2 You may recall that German modal verbs are usually used in conjunction with a second verb as in the example below. The modal verb is the conjugated verb form (will) and the second verb is in the infinitive at the end of the clause (kennen lernen). Er will die Welt kennenlernen. The present perfect tense for such sentence constructions is formed with the helping verb haben. In such a case both verbs appear in the infinitive and the modal verb is in the last position in the sentence. Such a construction is called double infinitive. Review the examples carefully. Compare the verb formations in English and in German. Note that the present perfect in German is translated with a simple past tense in English. Er will die Welt kennenlernen. He wants to get to know the world. Intermatik Audio: kap5/k5-3a-s3 Er hat die Welt kennen lernen wollen. He wanted to get to know the world. Intermatik Audio: kap5/k5-3a-s4 While it is important for you to recognize these forms and to know what they mean, the simple past tense (Er wollte die Welt kennen lernen) is used much more frequently than the present perfect tense with modals, even in conversational speech.