{"id":19649,"date":"2019-01-20T04:23:53","date_gmt":"2019-01-20T14:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/?page_id=19649"},"modified":"2025-08-27T13:59:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T13:59:26","slug":"konjunktiv2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/grammatik\/konjunktiv2\/","title":{"rendered":"Konjunktiv II"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull\" style=\"min-height:323px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"320\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 799px) 200vw, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-23934 size-large\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1408\/2019\/01\/UMGL-background-germany-29-1024x320.jpg\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1408\/2019\/01\/UMGL-background-germany-29-1024x320.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1408\/2019\/01\/UMGL-background-germany-29-300x94.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1408\/2019\/01\/UMGL-background-germany-29-768x240.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1408\/2019\/01\/UMGL-background-germany-29-1536x480.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1408\/2019\/01\/UMGL-background-germany-29-1568x490.jpg 1568w, https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1408\/2019\/01\/UMGL-background-germany-29.jpg 1920w\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#362a12\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-h-3-font-size\">Konjunktiv II [Subjunctive II]<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td colspan=\"2\"><a href=\"#Summary\">Summary<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/german\/hmr\/Grammatik\/KonjunktivII\/potatoes\/k2diag.html\">Diagnostic Exercises<\/a>\n<p>You will be asked 20 questions. IF YOU GET A QUESTION WRONG, KEEP TRYING UNTIL YOU GET IT RIGHT. THE PROGRAM WILL ONLY CALCULATE YOUR SCORE IF YOU HAVE ANSWERED ALL THE QUESTIONS. Incorrect guesses will reduce your score. When you are finished, click &#8220;Submit&#8221; if you are satisfied with your score. Remember you need a score of at least 80% in order to get a &#8220;check&#8221; for this assignment.<\/p>\n<\/td><td><a href=\"#uebungen\">Practice Exercises<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"#ContraryToFact\">Uses of Subjunctive II: Contrary-to-fact Statements<\/a><\/td><td><a href=\"#Otheruses\">Other uses of Subjunctive II<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"#Present\">Present Subjunctive Forms<\/a><\/td><td><a href=\"#Past\">Past Subjunctive Forms<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"#Modals\">Subjunctive with Modals<\/a><\/td><td><a href=\"#Pitfalls\">Common Pitfalls<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/325berlin\/\" name=\"Summary\"><\/a>Summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use Subjunctive II for contrary-to-fact statements: what you would do or would have done, but really <strong>aren&#8217;t<\/strong> doing\/really <strong>didn&#8217;t<\/strong> do. It&#8217;s ideal for spineless, wishy washy, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pisces_(astrology)#Personality\" target=\"pisces\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pisces<\/a>-type losers. Use it also for wishes and polite requests (more&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pisces_(astrology)#Personality\" target=\"Pisces\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pisces<\/a> stuff&#8230;).&nbsp; Click <a href=\"#ContraryToFact\">here<\/a>&nbsp;for more details and examples. If you&#8217;re a Pisces, you probably won&#8217;t be offended by the silly little jokes on this page about what Pisces people are like, but if you&#8217;re a Scorpio and you&#8217;re in love with a Pisces and this makes you mad, you should know that I&#8217;m a Pisces and that I&#8217;m just kidding. My therapist is helping me love myself the way I am.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Present subjunctive can be formed in two ways: &#8220;w\u00fcrde + infinitive&#8221; or a one-word form based on the simple past form of the verb.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>ich w\u00fcrde gehen<br>ich ginge<\/td><td>I would go<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two forms mean the same, but the one-word form is considered more formal and is falling into disuse.&nbsp; For&nbsp;<i>haben&nbsp;<\/i>,<i>sein&nbsp;<\/i>and the modal verbs, however, the one-word form is preferable, and we will require you to use it on tests.&nbsp; For all other verbs, use whichever form you prefer, but stick to &#8220;w\u00fcrde + infinitive&#8221; if you&#8217;re in doubt.&nbsp; Click&nbsp;<a href=\"#Present\">here<\/a> for more details and examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There is only one way to form the past subjunctive. It is based on the perfect tense of the verb:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Infinitiv<\/td><td>Perfekt<\/td><td>Konjunktiv II<\/td><td>Englisch<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>essen<\/td><td>ich <strong>habe<\/strong> gegessen<\/td><td>ich <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> gegessen<\/td><td>I would have eaten<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>rennen<\/td><td>ich <strong>bin<\/strong> gerannt<\/td><td>ich <strong>w\u00e4re<\/strong> gerannt<\/td><td>I would have run<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To form past subjunctive, just change &#8220;haben&#8221; to &#8220;h\u00e4tte&#8221; and &#8220;sein&#8221; to &#8220;w\u00e4re.&#8221;&nbsp; Click&nbsp;<a href=\"#Past\">here<\/a>&nbsp;for more details and examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Present subjunctive with a modal verb is just what you would expect:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Manni <strong>sollte<\/strong> die Tasche nicht <strong>vergessen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Manni should not forget the bag.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Dann <strong>m\u00fcsste<\/strong> Lola nicht <strong>rennen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Then Lola would not have to run.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To form the past subjunctive with a modal verb, you need to use a <strong>double infinitive<\/strong>.&nbsp; The auxiliary verb will always be &#8220;h\u00e4tte,&#8221; even if the main verb is a verb of motion or describes a change of state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Manni <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> die Tasche nicht <strong>vergessen sollen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Manni should not have forgotten the bag.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Dann <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> Lola nicht <strong>rennen m\u00fcssen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Then Lola would not have had to run.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Click&nbsp;<a href=\"#Modals\">here<\/a>&nbsp;for more details and examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Common mistakes that indicate you have not understood the subjunctive are using &#8220;w\u00fcrde&#8221; (which is used to form the present subjunctive) with a past participle of a verb (which is used to form the past subjunctive), or using &#8220;h\u00e4tte&#8221; or &#8220;w\u00e4re&#8221; (which are used to form the past subjunctive) with the infinitive of the verb (which is used to form the present subjunctive):<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Falsch<\/td><td>Richtig<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"text-decoration: line-through\">Ich w\u00fcrde gegangen.<\/span><br><span style=\"text-decoration: line-through\">Ich w\u00e4re gehen.<\/span><\/td><td>Ich w\u00fcrde gehen. [=I would go]<br>Ich w\u00e4re gegangen. [=I would have gone]<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian have Conditional <i>and<\/i> Subjunctive moods. German Subjunctive II corresponds much more closely to the&nbsp;<i>Conditional<\/i> mood in these languages (used for saying what you <strong>would<\/strong> do or <strong>would<\/strong> have done) than to the <i>Subjunctive<\/i> mood, which is used in these languages primarily in conjunction with certain verbs expressing beliefs, desires and uncertainties (and corresponds to some extent to the <i>Subjunctive I<\/i> in German in this respect).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pisces_(astrology)#Personality\" target=\"Pisces\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pisces<\/a>&nbsp;are sweet, lovable people who might smoke.&nbsp; Don&#8217;t let anyone hurt their feelings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#oben\">Zur\u00fcck nach oben<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/325berlin\/\" name=\"uebungen\"><\/a>Practice Exercises<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/german\/hmr\/Grammatik\/KonjunktivII\/potatoes\/konj_oder_ind.htm\">Konjunktiv oder Indikativ?<\/a> Get a feel for the Subjunctive by deciding if these statements are subjunctive or not. <strong>Note<\/strong>: We had a bit of fun writing the detailed feedback for this exercise. Of course we hope you&#8217;ll find it helpful and perhaps amusing, but if you find it annoying or confusing, please just ignore the detailed feedback and focus on the basic &#8220;right&#8221; and &#8220;wrong&#8221; feedback. There are 31 items here, so that should give you plenty of practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/german\/hmr\/Grammatik\/KonjunktivII\/potatoes\/emeril.htm\">Was w\u00fcrde Emeril Lagasse machen?<\/a> Practice using &#8220;w\u00fcrde + infinitive&#8221; to form present subjunctive statements about how the famous Food Network chef would make hot dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/german\/hmr\/Grammatik\/KonjunktivII\/potatoes\/emeril_im_maerchen.htm\">Emeril Lagasse im M\u00e4rchen<\/a> More present subjunctive practice using Emeril Lagasse: this time, say what he would do in various fairy tales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Pr\u00e4sens oder Vergangenheit?<\/strong> Practice distinguishing present and past subjunctive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8230;in an exercise based on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/german\/hmr\/Grammatik\/KonjunktivII\/potatoes\/praes_oder_verg.htm\">Rotk\u00e4ppchen<\/a>&nbsp;[=Little Red Riding Hood]<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8230;in an exercise based on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/german\/hmr\/Grammatik\/KonjunktivII\/potatoes\/schneewittchen.htm\">Schneewittchen<\/a>&nbsp;[=Snow White]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/german\/hmr\/Grammatik\/KonjunktivII\/potatoes\/lola.htm\">Richtig oder falsch?<\/a> Which of these sentences contains the common mistakes described on this page? [Mixing present and past subjunctive (w\u00fcrde &amp; past participle, or h\u00e4tte\/w\u00e4re + infinitive) or failing to use a double infinitive for a past subjunctive statement involving a modal verb]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/german\/hmr\/Grammatik\/KonjunktivII\/potatoes\/studentenleben.htm\">Das Studentenleben<\/a> Choose the correct present or past subjunctive form. Half of the items involve modal verbs. Going through these should really help you understand the distinction between present and past subjunctive, and should help you understand how to use modal verbs in the present and past subjunctive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/german\/hmr\/Grammatik\/KonjunktivII\/potatoes\/saetze.htm\">S\u00e4tze formen<\/a> Write logical sentences in the past or present subjunctive based on the prompts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#oben\">Zur\u00fcck nach oben<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/325berlin\/\" name=\"ContraryToFact\"><\/a>Uses of Subjunctive II: Contrary-to-fact Statements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Technically, the subjunctive is a &#8220;mood,&#8221; not a &#8220;tense&#8221;&#8211;odd terminology, but fun: sometimes you&#8217;re in the mood for the facts ==&gt; you use the regular, indicative mood, other times you&#8217;re in the mood for what would be, for wishing, for &#8220;if only&#8221; statements ==&gt; you use the subjunctive mood.&nbsp; Just as the indicative mood has various tenses, the subjunctive mood has a present tense and a past tense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You use the subjunctive mood when you want to talk about how things would, could or should be, how things would, could or should have been&#8211;the point being, however, that these are contrary-to-fact (&#8220;counterfactual&#8221;) statements, i.e. this is not how things actually are or were.&nbsp; Here are some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Indicative<\/td><td>Subjunctive<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>I eat SPAM every day.<\/td><td>I would eat SPAM every day (if I was crazy&#8230;). ==&gt; I don&#8217;t actually eat SPAM every day.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich <strong>esse<\/strong> SPAM jeden Tag.<\/td><td>Ich <strong>w\u00fcrde<\/strong> jeden Tag SPAM <strong>essen<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>I did my homework on time.<\/td><td>I would have done my homework on time (if I hadn&#8217;t met the man\/woman of my dreams in the library yesterday). ==&gt; I didn&#8217;t actually do my homework on time.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich <strong>habe<\/strong> meine Hausaufgaben p\u00fcnktlich <strong>gemacht<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Ich <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> meine Hausaufgaben p\u00fcnktlich <strong>gemacht<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>I handed my homework in later.<\/td><td>I would have handed my homework in later (if my ex hadn&#8217;t gotten mad and burned my room because supposedly we&#8217;re<br>still dating and not allowed to see other people). ==&gt; I didn&#8217;t actually hand my homework in later.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich <strong>habe<\/strong> meine Hausaufgaben sp\u00e4ter <strong>abgegeben<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Ich <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> meine Hausaufgaben sp\u00e4ter <strong>abgegeben<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>I do my homework every day.<\/td><td>I would do my homework every day (but my love life gets<br>in the way). ==&gt; I don&#8217;t actually do my homework every day.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich <strong>mache<\/strong> meine Hausaufgaben jeden Tag.<\/td><td>Ich <strong>w\u00fcrde<\/strong> meine Hausaufgaben jeden Tag <strong>machen<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>I don&#8217;t obsess about hypothetical romances.<\/td><td>I wouldn&#8217;t obsess about hypothetical romances (but I have<br>issues). ==&gt; I do actually obsess about hypothetical romances.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich <strong>denke<\/strong> nicht zwanghaft [=obsessively] an hypothetische<br>Romanzen.<\/td><td>Ich <strong>w\u00fcrde<\/strong> nicht zwanghaft [=obsessively] an hypothetische Romanzen <strong>denken<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>I&#8217;m not supposed to make mean generalizations about Pisces.[It&#8217;s a fact that I am not supposed to do this. I may break this rule, but it&#8217;s a fact that the rule<br>exists.]<\/td><td>I shouldn&#8217;t make mean generalizations about Pisces (but<br>I&#8217;m a Pisces, so I like astrology&#8230;).<br>==&gt; I do actually make mean generalizations about Pisces.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich <strong>soll<\/strong> keine gemeinen Verallgemeinerungen \u00fcber<br>Fische <strong>machen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Ich <strong>sollte<\/strong> keine gemeinen Verallgemeinerungen \u00fcber<br>Fische <strong>machen<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wenn-statements<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Generally, wenn-statements are counterfactual: &#8220;If X was the case, then Y would be the case&#8221; (but X is not the case) ==&gt; generally, they require subjunctive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Wenn ich reich <strong>w\u00e4re<\/strong>, <strong>w\u00fcrde<\/strong> ich einen Opel Speedster <strong>kaufen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>\n<p>If I <strong>were<\/strong> rich, I <strong>would buy<\/strong> an Opel Speedster [but I&#8217;m not rich, so I can&#8217;t afford it].<\/p>\n<p>In case &#8220;If I <strong>were<\/strong> rich&#8230;&#8221; sounds odd to you, note that in colloquial English, one would say &#8220;If I <strong>was<\/strong> rich&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Wenn ich Salieri <strong>gekannt h\u00e4tte<\/strong>, <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> ich ihn \u00fcber Mozart <strong>gefragt<\/strong>.<\/td><td>If I <strong>had known<\/strong> Salieri, I <strong>would have asked<\/strong> him about Mozart [but I didn&#8217;t know him, so I couldn&#8217;t ask him].<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Wenn ich mehr Zeit <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong>, <strong>w\u00fcrde<\/strong> ich mehr Beispiele <strong>schreiben<\/strong>.<\/td><td>If I <strong>had<\/strong> more time, I <strong>would write<\/strong> more examples [but I don&#8217;t, so I won&#8217;t, and you don&#8217;t need more examples anyway, right?]<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In &#8220;if&#8221; -statements about future events, the choice between indicative and subjunctive is sometimes dependent on how you perceive a situation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Indicative<\/td><td>Subjunctive<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>If you <strong>build<\/strong> it, they <strong>will<\/strong> come.<br>[The person making this statement thinks it&#8217;s quite<br>likely that you will build it.]<br>(Click <a href=\"http:\/\/us.imdb.com\/Title?0097351\">here<\/a> to find out more about &#8220;it&#8221;&#8230;)<\/td><td>If you <strong>built<\/strong> it, they <strong>would<\/strong> come.<br>[The person making this statement doesn&#8217;t think it&#8217;s likely that you will actually build it.]<br>(The movie would not have worked this way&#8230;)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Wenn du es <strong>baust<\/strong>, <strong>werden<\/strong> sie <strong>kommen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Wenn du es <strong>bauen w\u00fcrdest<\/strong>, <strong>w\u00fcrden<\/strong> sie <strong>kommen<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>If you <strong>start<\/strong> treating me like a real person and <strong>don&#8217;t<\/strong> interrupt me whenever you feel like it and <strong>cook<\/strong> dinner for me once in a while, then we <strong>can<\/strong> keep dating.<br>[The person making this statement (is probably a <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pisces_(astrology)#Personality\" target=\"info\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pisces<\/a><br>and is living in a dream world where s\/he) thinks it&#8217;s quite <strong>likely<\/strong> that the egotistical loser s\/he is dating will actually suddenly start treating him\/her with respect and stop thinking of himself\/herself as the center of the universe.]<\/td><td>If you <strong>started<\/strong> treating me like a real person and <strong>didn&#8217;t<\/strong> interrupt me whenever you feel like it<br>and <strong>cooked<\/strong> dinner for me once in a while, then we <strong>could<\/strong> keep dating. [The person making this statement realizes it&#8217;s<strong> very unlikely<\/strong> that these things will happen, and expects the relationship to end.&nbsp; Probably a wise perspective. Of course you never know.&nbsp; You really love someone, maybe you need to have the faith that they can change,<br>and then maybe they will.&nbsp; But then, I&#8217;m a <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pisces_(astrology)#Personality\" target=\"info\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pisces<\/a>&#8230;]<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>If you <strong>delete<\/strong> all this extraneous &amp;*%$ about relationships, the students <strong>will<\/strong> have a chance<br>of understanding the subjunctive.<br>[The person making this statement thinks it&#8217;s quite <strong>likely<\/strong> that Hartmut will listen and get rid of the extraneous &amp;*%$.]<\/td><td>If you <strong>deleted<\/strong> all this extraneous &amp;*%$ about relationships, the students <strong>would<\/strong> have a chance<br>of understanding the subjunctive.<br>[The person making this statement thinks it&#8217;s quite <strong>unlikely<\/strong> that Hartmut will listen and get rid of the extraneous &amp;*%$.]<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/325berlin\/\" name=\"A%20Note\"><\/a>A Note on &#8220;Would&#8221; in the sense of &#8220;Used to&#8221;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In English, &#8220;would&#8221; is sometimes used used to indicate that you did something habitually, as in &#8220;When I was little, I <strong>would<\/strong> cry whenever I heard the ice cream man.&#8221;&nbsp; This use of &#8220;would&#8221; is not subjunctive: you&#8217;re saying what you actually habitually did.&nbsp; To translate such a statement, just use the regular past tense: &#8220;Als ich ein Kind war, habe ich immer geweint, wenn ich den Eiswagen geh\u00f6rt habe.&#8221;&nbsp; Contrast this with the subjunctive statement &#8220;If I heard the ice cream man, I would cry&#8221; [but I&#8217;m not hearing him, so I&#8217;m not crying]: &#8220;Wenn ich den Eiswagen <strong>h\u00f6ren w\u00fcrde<\/strong>, <strong>w\u00fcrde<\/strong> ich <strong>weinen<\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#oben\">Zur\u00fcck nach oben<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/325berlin\/\" name=\"Otheruses\"><\/a>Other uses of Subjunctive II<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wishes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These fit in well with the above, since when you wish for something, what you&#8217;re wishing for isn&#8217;t a fact.&nbsp; Common ways to express wishes are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Ich w\u00fcnschte,&#8230;<br>[Note that this is actually the subjunctive of &#8220;w\u00fcnschen.&#8221; This seems wrong, since you are actually making the wish ==&gt; it would be logical to use the indicative. But it has become standard even in formal language to use the subjunctive here. This oddity seems to come from the same linguistic impulse that generates the common children&#8217;s error in English of saying e.g. &#8220;I <strong>wished<\/strong> I had a teddy bear&#8221; instead of &#8220;I <strong>wish<\/strong> I had a teddy bear&#8221;]<\/td><td>I wish&#8230;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Wenn &#8230; nur<br>[Place the &#8220;nur&#8221; early in the sentence, but generally<br>after the subject, direct object and any pronouns.]<\/td><td>If only&#8230;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n<ul>\n<li>Es w\u00e4re toll, wenn&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Es w\u00e4re sch\u00f6n, wenn&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li>It would be great if&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>It would be nice if&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are some examples.&nbsp; Note the verb position in each case: verb <strong>second<\/strong> after &#8220;Ich w\u00fcnschte,&#8221; verb <strong>final<\/strong> after &#8220;Wenn&#8230;nur&#8221; and &#8220;Es w\u00e4re toll\/sch\u00f6n, wenn&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ich w\u00fcnschte<\/strong>, die Backstreet Boys <strong>w\u00fcrden<\/strong><br><strong>verschwinden<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ich w\u00fcnschte<\/strong>, es <strong>g\u00e4be<\/strong> keine Boy-Bands.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ich w\u00fcnschte<\/strong>, ich <strong>k\u00f6nnte<\/strong><br>ein Backstreet Boy <strong>sein<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li>I wish the BS Boys would disappear.<\/li>\n<li>I wish there were no Boy Bands.<\/li>\n<li>I wish I could be a BS Boy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Wenn<\/strong> die BS Boys <strong>nur<\/strong> <strong>verschwinden w\u00fcrden<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wenn<\/strong> es <strong>nur<\/strong> keine Boy-Bands <strong>g\u00e4be<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wenn<\/strong> ich <strong>nur<\/strong> ein BS-Boy <strong>sein k\u00f6nnte<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li>If only the BS Boys would disappear.<\/li>\n<li>If only there were no Boy Bands.<\/li>\n<li>If only I could be a BS Boy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Es w\u00e4re toll<\/strong>, wenn die Backstreet Boys <strong>verschwinden w\u00fcrden<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Es w\u00e4re sch\u00f6n<\/strong>, wenn es keine Boy-Bands&nbsp;<strong>g\u00e4be<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Es w\u00e4re toll<\/strong>, wenn ich ein BS-Boy <strong>sein k\u00f6nnte<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><td>\n<ul>\n<li>It would be great if the BS Boys would disappear.<\/li>\n<li>It would be nice if there were no Boy Bands.<\/li>\n<li>It would be great if I could be a BS Boy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the second sentence in each of the above examples, note that &#8220;es g\u00e4be&#8221; is the subjunctive of &#8220;es gibt&#8221; [=there is\/are] ==&gt; means &#8220;there would be.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Polite requests<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As in English, Subjunctive II can be used to soften requests and make them more polite [=h\u00f6flich ==&gt; please learn this word, since you&#8217;ll hear it repeatedly while we cover subjunctive in class!]:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Less polite (indicative)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>More polite (subjunctive)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Bringen<\/strong> Sie mir bitte eine Cola.<\/td><td><strong>W\u00fcrden<\/strong> Sie mir bitte eine Cola <strong>bringen<\/strong>?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich <strong>will<\/strong> eine Cola.<\/td><td>Ich <strong>m\u00f6chte<\/strong> eine Cola\/Ich <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> <strong>gern<\/strong> eine Cola.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>K\u00f6nnen<\/strong> Sie mir helfen? [<strong>=Can<\/strong> you help me?]<\/td><td><strong>K\u00f6nnten<\/strong> Sie mir helfen? [<strong>=Could<\/strong> you help me?]<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Geben<\/strong> Sie mir Ihr erstgeborenes Kind.<\/td><td><strong>W\u00fcrden<\/strong> Sie mir bitte Ihr erstgeborenes Kind <strong>geben<\/strong>?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#oben\">Zur\u00fcck nach oben<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/325berlin\/\" name=\"Present\"><\/a>Present Subjunctive Forms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Present subjunctive can be formed in two ways: &#8220;w\u00fcrde + infinitive&#8221; or a one-word form based on the simple past form of the verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>ich w\u00fcrde gehen<br>ich ginge<\/td><td>I would go<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>ich w\u00fcrde tanzen<br>ich tanzte<\/td><td>I would dance<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Forming the One-Word Form<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For weak (regular) verbs, the one-word form is identical to the simple past (consequently, it is very often replaced by &#8220;w\u00fcrde + infinitive&#8221; in order to avoid misunderstandings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Simple Past (danced)<\/td><td>Subjunctive II (would dance)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>ich tanzte<\/td><td>ich tanzte<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>du tanztest<\/td><td>du tanztest<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>er\/sie\/es tanzte<\/td><td>er\/sie\/es tanzte<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>wir tanzten<\/td><td>wir tanzten<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>ihr tanztet<\/td><td>ihr tanztet<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>sie\/Sie tanzten<\/td><td>sie\/Sie tanzten<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For strong (irregular) verbs, the one-word form consists of the simple past stem with an umlaut added if possible, and with the same pattern of endings used for weak verbs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Simple Past (went\/saw\/ran\/drove)<\/td><td>Subjunctive II (would go\/see\/run\/drive)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>ich ging\/sah\/lief\/fuhr<\/td><td>ich ginge\/s\u00e4he\/liefe\/f\u00fchre<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>du gingst\/sahst\/liefst\/fuhrst<\/td><td>du ging(e)st\/s\u00e4h(e)st\/lief(e)st\/f\u00fchr(e)st<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>er\/sie\/es ging\/sah\/lief\/fuhr<\/td><td>er\/sie\/es ginge\/s\u00e4he\/liefe\/f\u00fchre<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>wir gingen\/sahen\/liefen\/fuhren<\/td><td>wir gingen\/s\u00e4hen\/liefen\/f\u00fchren<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>ihr gingt\/saht\/lieft\/fuhrt<\/td><td>ihr ging(e)t\/s\u00e4h(e)t\/lief(e)t\/f\u00fchr(e)t<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>sie\/Sie gingen\/sahen\/liefen\/fuhren<\/td><td>sie\/Sie gingen\/s\u00e4hen\/liefen\/f\u00fchren<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are some exceptions to these rules, notably the mixed verbs, some of which have vowel changes, some of which don&#8217;t (<strong>denken ==&gt; d\u00e4chte, bringen ==&gt; br\u00e4chte, wissen ==&gt; w\u00fcsste<\/strong>, but nennen ==&gt; nennte, rennen ==&gt; rennte etc.), and some strong verbs with unpredictable vowel changes that occur only in Subjunctive II.&nbsp; However, irregular subjunctives of this sort have almost completely disappeared from ordinary usage ==&gt; we will not go into these.&nbsp; The only ones of which you should be aware because they might occur in texts you might read, or occasionally in speech, are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>wissen<\/td><td>w\u00fcsste<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>bringen<\/td><td>br\u00e4chte<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>denken<\/td><td>d\u00e4chte<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>stehen<\/td><td>st\u00fcnde<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>sterben<\/td><td>st\u00fcrbe<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We don&#8217;t expect you to be able to produce these forms on tests: just use &#8220;w\u00fcrde + infinitive,&#8221; which will in any case be better, except perhaps for &#8220;wissen&#8221;&#8211;see below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">W\u00fcrde + infinitive versus the one-word form:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two forms mean the same, but the one-word form is considered more formal and is falling into disuse.&nbsp; For <i>haben<\/i>,&nbsp;<i>sein<\/i> and the modal verbs, however, the one-word form is preferable, and we will require you to use it on tests. For all other verbs, use whichever form you prefer, but stick to &#8220;w\u00fcrde + infinitive&#8221; if you&#8217;re in doubt.&nbsp; Here are some more details:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verbs for which you should almost always use the one-word form:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>haben<\/td><td>ich h\u00e4tte<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>sein<\/td><td>ich w\u00e4re<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>k\u00f6nnen<\/td><td>ich k\u00f6nnte<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>m\u00fcssen<\/td><td>ich m\u00fcsste<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>d\u00fcrfen<\/td><td>ich d\u00fcrfte<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>m\u00f6gen<\/td><td>ich m\u00f6chte<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>sollen<\/td><td>ich sollte<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>wollen<\/td><td>ich wollte<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verbs for which the one-word form is often used:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>brauchen<\/td><td>ich br\u00e4uchte<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>finden<\/td><td>ich f\u00e4nde<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>geben<\/td><td>ich g\u00e4be<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>gehen<\/td><td>ich ginge<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>kommen<\/td><td>ich k\u00e4me<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>stehen<\/td><td>ich st\u00fcnde<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>tun<\/td><td>ich t\u00e4te<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>wissen<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>ich w\u00fcsste<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For most other verbs, you can generally assume that the one-word form will sound quite formal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Weak verbs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For weak verbs, the one-word form is identical to the simple past (sagen ==&gt; ich sagte; lachen ==&gt; ich lachte etc.).&nbsp; This can often create ambiguity, so the &#8220;w\u00fcrde&#8221; form is used particularly frequently to avoid this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#oben\">Zur\u00fcck nach oben<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/325berlin\/\" name=\"Past\"><\/a>Past Subjunctive Forms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is only one way to form the past subjunctive.&nbsp; It is based on the perfect tense of the verb.&nbsp; To form past subjunctive, just change &#8220;haben&#8221; to &#8220;h\u00e4tte&#8221; and &#8220;sein&#8221; to &#8220;w\u00e4re&#8221;:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Infinitiv<\/td><td>Perfekt<\/td><td>Konjunktiv<br>II<\/td><td>Englisch<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>essen<\/td><td>ich <strong>habe<\/strong> gegessen<\/td><td>ich <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> gegessen<\/td><td>I would have eaten<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>tanzen<\/td><td>ich <strong>habe<\/strong> getanzt<\/td><td>ich <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> getanzt<\/td><td>I would have danced<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>mitsingen<\/td><td>ich <strong>habe<\/strong> mitgesungen<\/td><td>ich <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> mitgesungen<\/td><td>I would have sung along<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>feiern<\/td><td>ich <strong>habe<\/strong> gefeiert<\/td><td>ich <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> gefeiert<\/td><td>I would have celebrated<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>verstehen<\/td><td>ich <strong>habe<\/strong> verstanden<\/td><td>ich <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> verstanden<\/td><td>I would have understood<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>rennen<\/td><td>ich <strong>bin<\/strong> gerannt<\/td><td>ich <strong>w\u00e4re<\/strong> gerannt<\/td><td>I would have run<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>springen<\/td><td>ich <strong>bin<\/strong> gesprungen<\/td><td>ich <strong>w\u00e4re<\/strong> gesprungen<\/td><td>I would have jumped<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>explodieren<\/td><td>ich <strong>bin<\/strong> explodiert<\/td><td>ich <strong>w\u00e4re<\/strong> explodiert<\/td><td>I would have exploded<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>aufwachen<\/td><td>ich <strong>bin<\/strong> aufgewacht<\/td><td>ich <strong>w\u00e4re<\/strong> aufgewacht<\/td><td>I would have woken up<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Click&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/grammatik\/morekonjunktiv2\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"19651\">here<\/a> to see a dumb joke involving past subjunctive<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#oben\">Zur\u00fcck nach oben<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/325berlin\/\" name=\"Modals\"><\/a>Subjunctive with Modals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Present subjunctive with a modal verb is just what you would expect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Manni <strong>sollte<\/strong> die Tasche nicht <strong>vergessen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Manni should not forget the bag.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Dann <strong>m\u00fcsste<\/strong> Lola nicht <strong>rennen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Then Lola would not have to run.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To form the past subjunctive with a modal verb, you need to use a <strong>double infinitive<\/strong>.&nbsp; The auxiliary verb will always be &#8220;h\u00e4tte,&#8221; even if the main verb is a verb of motion or describes a change of state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Manni <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> die Tasche nicht <strong>vergessen sollen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Manni should not have forgotten the bag.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Dann <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> Lola nicht <strong>rennen<\/strong> <strong>m\u00fcssen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Then Lola would not have had to run.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Students sometimes think that the double infinitive construction is hard, but actually the only hard part is remembering that you have to use it, since you only need infinitives and the auxiliary verb will always be&nbsp;<strong>h\u00e4tte&nbsp;<\/strong>and not&nbsp;<s>w\u00e4re<\/s>. Here&#8217;s a sample sentence from Lonka, age 2 3\/4:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Mama, wenn wir heute kein Apfelmuesli gehabt h\u00e4tten, <strong>h\u00e4tte<\/strong> ich Eierpfannkuchen <strong>essen k\u00f6nnen<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Mom, if we hadn&#8217;t had Apfelmuesli today, I <strong>could have eaten<\/strong> [German-style] pancakes.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Past subjunctive with modals is most commonly used with k\u00f6nnen [==&gt; I could have&#8230;], sollen [==&gt; I should have&#8230;] and m\u00fcssen [==&gt; I would have had to&#8230;or I really should have&#8230;].&nbsp; Here is a complete table of the possibilities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Ich h\u00e4tte lachen k\u00f6nnen<\/td><td>I<strong> could have<\/strong> laughed<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich h\u00e4tte lachen sollen<\/td><td>I <strong>should have<\/strong> laughed<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich h\u00e4tte lachen m\u00fcssen<\/td><td>I <strong>would have had to<\/strong> laugh<br><strong>or<\/strong><br>I <strong>really should have<\/strong> laughed<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich h\u00e4tte lachen d\u00fcrfen<\/td><td>I <strong>would have been allowed to<\/strong> laugh<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich h\u00e4tte lachen wollen<\/td><td>I <strong>would have wanted to<\/strong> laugh<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich h\u00e4tte lachen m\u00f6gen [quite rarely used]<\/td><td>I<strong> would have liked to<\/strong> laugh<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8220;I could&#8221;: Indicative vs. Subjunctive Revisited<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The English &#8220;could&#8221; can denote indicative or subjunctive moods.&nbsp; Here&#8217;s how to tell the difference:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If&nbsp;<i>could&nbsp;<\/i>indicates something you might do in the future, it&#8217;s subjunctive: &#8220;Ich k\u00f6nnte ein &#8216;A&#8217; in diesem Kurs bekommen.&#8221;&nbsp; If it indicates something you were or were not able to do in the past, it&#8217;s just the past tense of &#8220;k\u00f6nnen,&#8221; not subjunctive: &#8220;Ich konnte letztes Semester ein &#8216;A&#8217; in meinem Deutschkurs bekommen&#8221; [no umlaut on &#8220;konnte&#8221;].&nbsp; For what you could have done in the past (but didn&#8217;t), you need past subjunctive ==&gt; the double infinitive construction: Ich h\u00e4tte ein &#8216;A&#8217; bekommen k\u00f6nnen, wenn ich mehr gelernt h\u00e4tte.&#8221;&nbsp; More examples:<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Ich konnte schlafen<\/td><td>I <strong>could [was able to]<\/strong> sleep [==&gt; I did sleep!]<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich k\u00f6nnte schlafen<\/td><td>I<strong> could [would be able to]<\/strong> sleep [something I might be able to do now or in the future]<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich h\u00e4tte schlafen k\u00f6nnen<\/td><td>I <strong>could have<\/strong> slept [but didn&#8217;t]<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich konnte mein Fahrrad reparieren<\/td><td>I <strong>could [was able to]<\/strong> repair my bike [==&gt; I did repair it!]<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich k\u00f6nnte mein Fahrrad reparieren<\/td><td>I <strong>could [would be able to] repair my bike<\/strong> [something I might be able to do now or in the future]<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ich h\u00e4tte mein Fahrrad reparieren k\u00f6nnen [quite rarely used]<\/td><td>I <strong>could have<\/strong> repaired my bike [but didn&#8217;t]<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#oben\">Zur\u00fcck nach oben<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/325berlin\/\" name=\"Pitfalls\"><\/a>Common Pitfalls<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/325berlin\/\" name=\"Mixing\"><\/a>Mixing Present and Past Subjunctive<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Common mistakes that indicate you have not understood the subjunctive are using &#8220;w\u00fcrde&#8221; (which is used to form the present subjunctive) with a past participle of a verb (which is used to form the past subjunctive), or using &#8220;h\u00e4tte&#8221; or &#8220;w\u00e4re&#8221; (which are used to form the past subjunctive) with the infinitive of the verb (which is used to form the present subjunctive):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>Falsch<\/td><td>Richtig<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span style=\"text-decoration: line-through\">Ich w\u00fcrde gegangen.<\/span><br><span style=\"text-decoration: line-through\">Ich w\u00e4re gehen.<\/span><\/td><td>Ich w\u00fcrde gehen. [=I would go]<br>Ich w\u00e4re gegangen. [=I would have gone]<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.german.lsa.umich.edu\/325berlin\/\" name=\"Romance\"><\/a>Comparison\/Contrast with Spanish\/French\/Italian\/Portuguese\/Rumanian<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In these languages, you will have learned about the Conditional&nbsp;<i>and<\/i> the Subjunctive moods. German Subjunctive II corresponds much more closely to the <i>Conditional<\/i> mood in these languages (used for saying what you would do or would have done) than to the <i>Subjunctive<\/i> mood, which is used in<br>these languages primarily in conjunction with certain verbs expressing beliefs, desires and uncertainties (and corresponds to some extent to the <i>Subjunctive I<\/i> in German in this respect).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#oben\">Zur\u00fcck nach oben<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary Diagnostic Exercises You will be asked 20 questions. IF YOU GET A QUESTION WRONG, KEEP TRYING UNTIL YOU GET IT RIGHT. THE PROGRAM WILL ONLY CALCULATE YOUR SCORE IF YOU HAVE ANSWERED ALL THE QUESTIONS. Incorrect guesses will reduce your score. When you are finished, click &#8220;Submit&#8221; if you are satisfied with your score.&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/grammatik\/konjunktiv2\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Konjunktiv II<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":0,"parent":19599,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"tw-no-title.php","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-19649","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"post-thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jessica Darga","author_link":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/author\/jadarga\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Summary Diagnostic Exercises You will be asked 20 questions. IF YOU GET A QUESTION WRONG, KEEP TRYING UNTIL YOU GET IT RIGHT. THE PROGRAM WILL ONLY CALCULATE YOUR SCORE IF YOU HAVE ANSWERED ALL THE QUESTIONS. Incorrect guesses will reduce your score. When you are finished, click &#8220;Submit&#8221; if you are satisfied with your score.&hellip;&hellip;","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19649"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45342,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19649\/revisions\/45342"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/german-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}