Language/German/Grammar/Conditional-Mood
Hi German learners!
In today's lesson we are going to learn about the Conditional Tense in the German language.
The conditional Tense in German
The conditional tense is called "Konjunktiv II (zwei)" in German.
It is used to talk about things that are pure hypothetical.
Note that there are two ways to form the conditional tense. The first one is a real verbal form, #the second one is perphrastic:
- "Ich sänge" is the real verbal form: I would sing.
- "Ich würde singen" is the periphrastic form.
There is no difference in meaning. But there can be a difference in style. The simple form belong often rather to formal speech. With some verbs though, the simple form ist quite common. You can see the most common simple forms her. The verbs "sein, werden und haben" have very common conditional forms. Notice that these forms can quite simply be derived from the past tenses of the verbs by adding umlauts: ich war becomes ich wäre and so forth.
With "spielen" and "essen", the table below shows the perphrastic form:
Conditional of "werden" plus infintive of the verb.
Notice the simple form, which can again be created by umlauting the past form. "ich spielte" becomes "ich spielte". There is just no umlaut for "ie"! This is a major problem of the simple form. If there is no legal way to umlaut the stem vowel, the form just doesn't change. With "essen" you have the past tense "ich aß". This allows an umlaut and will yield "ich äße". The form is theoretically correct and you can use is. But be warned: Unless you are Goethe or you are writing a formal essay, you will either get misunderstanding or laughter. The form is not really used. Instead, we say "Ich würde essen".
Things are never simple in German. In writing, a sentence this to many "würde" sounds clumsy. So use "würde" with care. As a rule of thumb, use the simple forms for "sein, haben, werden" and the periphrastic form for all the rest.
We are have a conditional form of the past. Take the compound past form and put the auxilliary in the conditional. "Ich habe gegessen" becomes "ich hätte gegessen", "Ich war gewesen" becomes "ich wäre gewesen". If you feel extremely confident about your German, try to figure out some passive forms: "ich bin gefragt worden" becomes "ich wäre gefragt worden" and so on.
Some Verbs in the Conditional Tense in German
Table with the finalizations in the Conditional Tense
.
Pronouns in English | Conditional Tense |
I would ... | Pronoun + würde + verb in the infinitive |
You would ... | Pronoun + würdest + verb in the infinitive |
He would ... | Pronoun + würde + verb in the infinitive |
She would ... | Pronoun + würde + verb in the infinitive |
We would ... | Pronoun + würden + verb in the infinitive |
You would ... | Pronoun + würdet + verb in the infinitive |
They would ... | Pronoun + würden + verb in the infinitive |
They would ... | Pronoun + würden + verb in the infinitive |
.
Verb : To work (arbeiten)
Pronouns
English |
ENGLISH | PRONUNCIATION
ENGLISH |
GERMAN |
I | would work | ih kh vewr deh
ahr bye tehn |
Ich würde
arbeiten |
You | would work | dou vewr deh stih
ahr bye tehn |
Du würdest
arbeiten |
He | would work | ehr vewr deh
ahr bye tehn |
Er würde
arbeiten |
She | would work | zee vewr deh
ahr bye tehn |
sie würde
arbeiten |
We | would work | vee uhr vewr dehn
ahr bye tehn |
Wir würden
arbeiten |
You | would work (plur) | ih uhr vewr deht
ahr bye tehn |
Ihr würdet
arbeiten |
They | would work (masc) | zee vewr dehn
ahr bye tehn |
Sie würden
arbeiten |
They | would work (fem) | zee vewr dehn
ahr bye tehn |
Sie würden
arbeiten |
.
Verb : To buy (kaufen)
Pronouns
English |
ENGLISH | PRONUNCIATION
ENGLISH |
GERMAN |
I | would buy | ih kh vewr deh
cow fehn |
Ich würde
kaufen |
You | would buy | dou vewr deh stih
cow fehn |
Du würdest
kaufen |
He | would buy | ehr vewr deh
cow fehn |
Er würde
kaufen |
She | would buy | zee vewr deh
cow fehn |
sie würde
kaufen |
We | would buy | vee uhr vewr dehn
cow fehn |
Wir würden
kaufen |
You | would buy (plur) | ih uhr vewr deht
cow fehn |
Ihr würdet
kaufen |
They | would buy (masc) | zee vewr dehn
cow fehn |
Sie würden
kaufen |
They | would buy (fem) | zee vewr dehn
cow fehn |
Sie würden
kaufen |
.
Verb : To come (ankommen)
Pronouns
English |
ENGLISH | PRONUNCIATION
ENGLISH |
GERMAN |
I | would come | ih kh vewr deh
ahn koh mehn |
Ich würde ankommen |
You | would come | dou vewr deh stih
ahn koh mehn |
Du würdest
ankommen |
He | would come | ehr vewr deh
ahn koh mehn |
Er würde
ankommen |
She | would come | zee vewr deh
ahn koh mehn |
sie würde
ankommen |
We | would come | vee uhr vewr dehn
ahn koh mehn |
Wir würden
ankommen |
You | would come (plur) | ih uhr vewr deht
ahn koh mehn |
Ihr würdet
ankommen |
They | would come (mas) | zee vewr dehn
ahn koh mehn |
Sie würden
ankommen |
They | would come (fem) | zee vewr dehn
ahn koh mehn |
Sie würden
ankommen |
.
Verb : To help (helfen)
Pronouns
English |
ENGLISH | PRONUNCIATION
ENGLISH |
GERMAN |
I | would help | ih kh vewr deh
hehl fehn |
Ich würde
helfen |
You | would help | dou vewr deh stih
hehl fehn |
Du würdest
helfen |
He | would help | ehr vewr deh
hehl fehn |
Er würde
helfen |
She | would help | zee vewr deh
hehl fehn |
sie würde
helfen |
We | would help | vee uhr vewr dehn
hehl fehn |
Wir würden
helfen |
You | would help (plur) | ih uhr vewr deht
hehl fehn |
Ihr würdet
helfen |
They | would help (mas) | zee vewr dehn
hehl fehn |
Sie würden
helfen |
They | would help (fem) | zee vewr dehn
hehl fehn |
Sie würden
helfen |
.
Verb : To let (lassen)
Pronouns
English |
ENGLISH | PRONUNCIATION
ENGLISH |
GERMAN |
I | would let | ih kh vewr deh
lah sehn |
Ich würde
lassen |
You | would let | dou vewr deh stih
lah sehn |
Du würdest
lassen |
He | would let | ehr vewr deh
lah sehn |
Er würde
lassen |
She | would let | zee vewr deh
lah sehn |
sie würde
lassen |
We | would let | vee uhr vewr dehn
lah sehn |
Wir würden
lassen |
You | would let (plur) | ih uhr vewr deht
lah sehn |
Ihr würdet
lassen |
They | would let (mas) | zee vewr dehn
lah sehn |
Sie würden
lassen |
They | would let (fem) | zee vewr dehn
lah sehn |
Sie würden
lassen |