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| 1. Definition of subjunctive II 2. How to form subjunctive II with auxiliary verbs 3. How to form the subjunctive II of modal verbs 4. How to form the subjunctive II of main verbs |
The Konjunktiv II which is known as subjunctive II in English is the second part of the entire topic on Konjunktiv. Unlike Präsens, Perfekt, Präteritum which are all tenses, the Konjunktiv II is not a tense but it is expressed in the past participle tense in English which is called the Präteritum in Deutsch. So because it is not a tense on its own but a verb mood, you may want to ask, what it is then?
Konjunktiv II is politely used to express a wish or mood. That means, how someone feels about a situation or thing. This feeling could range from just a mare fantasy of impossibilities to a strong and hopeful desire which could eventually come true. Of course, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. This is just to say, this strong desire or wish might either be fulfilled or not. The subjunctive II in geman is often accompainied with the adverb gern which means “like to” when it specifically indicates a polite request or a dream and it’s placed in the adverbial position of a german sentence.
How to form the subjunctive II in German
The subjunctive II of german verbs is formed from their Präteritum by changing when available, the stem vowel (a, o, u) to that of the umlaut (ä, ö, ü) and conjugated with the table below. These verbs are always translated in english together with the auxiliary verb “would“. The formation of the subjunctive II is possible with all the various verb categories but those of the auxiliary verbs and modal verbs are mostly used unlike those of the main verbs. This is explained below.
| Subject pronouns | Declined ending |
|---|---|
| ich du er/sie/es wir ihr sie/Sie | -e -est -e -en -et -en |
Subjunctive II of auxilliary verbs
The subjunctive II of German auxiliary verbs is derived from their Präteritum but with a different conjugation pattern and a change in the stem vowel to the umlaut variant. For instance the the Präteritum of werden, haben and sein are wurden, hatten and waren respectively. Their respective subjunctive II are then würden, hätten and wären.
With that being said, the infinitive of the “umlauted” Präteritum of the auxiliary verbs are then conjugated to their respective subjects using the table above after the verb-ending “en” is removed. Then the auxiliaries when conjugated become as shown below;
| Subject Pronouns | werden (würden) | haben (hätten) | sein(wären) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich du er/sie/es wir ihr sie/Sie | würde würdest würde würden würdet würden | hätte hättest hätte hätten hättet hätten | wäre wärest wäre wären wäret wären |
| Translation | would | would have | would be |
The subjunctive II of haben and sein can either be translated as “would have” and “had” or “would be” and “were” respectively in English. Take for instance;
| Usage |
|---|
| 1. If I were a man…–– wenn ich ein Mann wäre,… 2. If you were the president…–– wenn du der Präsident wärest,… 3. If she had money…–– wenn sie Geld hätte,… 4. That would be better.–– das wäre besser. 5. My mother would like to have some salad.–– meine Mutter hätte gern etwas Salat. 6. What would you like to have?–– was hättest du gern? |
It is important to note that würden as an auxiliary is not used alone like hätten and wären. That is, you can’t say “Ich würde einen Mann” as that would literally mean “I would a man“. Rather, it is used as a help-verb or a stepping stone for german main verbs in the subjunctive II since the subjunctive II form of these main verbs are not often used, most especially in spoken german, würden is then conjugated to the subject while the infinite non-subjunctive II form of the verb is placed at the end. See the illustration below.
| Usage |
|---|
| 1. Ich würde ein schönes Haus kaufen, wenn ich sehr reich wäre.–– I would buy a beautiful house if i were very rich. 2. Ich würde gehen.–– I would go. 3. Sie würden Fußball spielen.–– they would play football. |
Subjunctive II of modal verbs
The subjunctive II of modal verbs can be formed on one hand from their present tense by first detaching the verb-ending and substituting it with a “t”. On the other hand, they are formed from their known Präteritum and switching of the stem vowel with the umlaut variant with exception of sollen and wollen as shown in the table below before adding the conjugating suffix from above. In a subjunctive II sentence that contains a modal verb, the modal verb is conjugated to the subject while the second verb is placed at the end of the clause.
| Infinitive | Method 1 (Präsens) | Method 2 (Präteritum) | Konjunctive II 3rd person | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| können müssen mögen dürfen wollen sollen | könnt müsst möcht dürft wollt sollt | konnt- (ö) musst- (ü) mocht- (ö) durft- (ü) wollt- sollt- | könnte müsste möchte dürfte wollte sollte | could/ would be able to would have to would like to would be allowed to would want should |
| Usage |
|---|
| 1. Wenn ihr drei Sprachen sprechen könntet, dann wäret ihr Linguisten.–– if you guys could speak three languages, then you would be linguists. 2. Mein Vater hätte keine Freundin, wenn er nicht heiraten wollte.–– my father would not have a girlfriend if he wouldn’t want to get married. 3. Sabine möchte gern Reis essen.–– Sabine would like to eat rice. 4. Wir sollten nichts kochen, wenn kein Besucher da .–ist– we shouldn’t cook anything when there would be no visitor. 5. Wenn ich Erwachsene wäre, könnte ich auf mich aufpassen.–– if i were an adult, i could be able to look after myself. |
Subjunctive II of main verbs
The subjunctive II of german main verbs are equally formed from their präteritum with some irregularities. Strong (unregelmäßig) verbs that contain the vowels a, o and u in their präteritum have their vowels replaced with the umlaut variant while those with other vowels and diphthongs stay the same. Weak (regelmäßig) verbs are exactly the same in their subjunctive II as the präteritum. See the examples of main verbs in the subjunctive below…
| Präsens | Präteritum | Subjunctive II | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| kommen warten suchen sehen fahren schließen gehen heiraten anfangen fallen verkaufen | kam wartet- sucht- sah fuhr schloss ging heiratet- fing… an fiel verkauft- | käm- wartet- sucht- säh- führ- schlöss- ging- heirat- fing-… an fiel- verkauft- | would come would wait would search would see would drive would close would go would marry would start would fall would sell |
| Usage |
|---|
| 1. I would come if only I had time.–– ich käme, wenn ich nur Zeit hätte. 2. They would drive the car to Berlin if they wanted.–– sie führen das Auto nach Berlin, wenn sie wollten. |
The above form of subjunctive II is barely used in german. Instead of this, they form their subjunctive II with the help of the auxiliary würden. Where würden is conjugated to the subject while the infinite form of the main verb is placed at the end of the sentence or clause. For example;
| Usage |
|---|
| 1. Wenn sie ein Auto hätte, würde sie nicht auf dich warten.–– if she had a car, she wouldn’t wait for you. 2. Wenn du etwas Geld von meiner Tante wolltest, würdest du sie einfach fragen.––if you wanted some money from my aunt, you would simply ask her. |