German modal adverbs
Lesson Outline
HideWhat are Modal adverbs?
Modal adverbs are descriptive of how something is. That means you can use them for describing how an action is done. Additionally with them you can give information about the amount of something.
The most important German modal adverbs in an overview
| Modal adverb | Translation | Example | Example translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gut | well | Mir geht es gut. | I'm doing well |
| Schlecht | bad | Das war nicht schlecht. | That wasn't bad |
| Mittelmäßig | average | Der Film war mittelmäßig. | The movie was average |
| So | like this / so | Das geht so. | It goes like this |
| Vorsichtig | carefully | Fahr vorsichtig! | Drive carefully! |
| Gerne | very much | Ich esse gerne Schokolade. | I like to eat chocolate very much |
| Langsam | slowly | Mein Computer arbeitet sehr langsam. | My computer works very slowly |
| Schnell | fast | Er rennt sehr schnell. | He's running fast |
| Anders | differently | Sie sieht anders aus als früher. | She looks different then before |
| Kaum | barely | Das glaube ich kaum. | I barely believe it |
| Leider | unfortunately | Das weiß ich leider nicht. | Unfortunately I don't know that |
| Sehr | very (much) | Ich freue mich sehr. | I'm very much looking forward to it |
| Vielleicht | Maybe | Vielleicht gehe ich später schwimmen. | Maybe I go swimming later |
| Reihenweise | In a row | Er aß reihenweise Chips. | He ate chips in a row |
| Größtenteils | mainly | Es war größtenteils seine Schuld. | It was mainly his fault |
| Genauso | the same way | Das sehe ich genauso. | I see it the same way |
| Äußerst | utterly | Das finde ich äußerst löblich von dir. | I think this is utterly commendable |
| Einigermaßen | somewhat | Ist das Sofa einigermaßen bequem? | Is the sofa somewhat comfortable? |
| Nur | only | Das schaffen wir nur, wenn wir trainieren. | We can only do this, if we practice |
| Zumindest | at least | Das ist zumindest mal ein Anfang. | That is at least a start |
| Folgendermaßen | as follows | Das geht folgendermaßen. | That works as follows |
| Fast | almost | Ich bin fast fertig mit dem Buch. | I am almost finished with the book |
| Möglicherweise | perhaps | Es gibt möglicherweise eine Alternative. | There is perhaps an alternative |
| Wirklich | really | Das ist wirklich toll! | That is really great |
Answering questions with modal adverbs
You can use modal adverbs to answer questions like these:
| Question | Question translation | Answer with modal adverb | Answer Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wie geht es dir? | How are you doing? | Mir geht es gut. | I'm doing well |
| Auf welche Weise erfolgt das? | In which way will it happen? | Das verläuft anders als vorher. | It happens differently than before |
| Wie viel Speicher hat dein Computer noch? | How much memory does your computer have? | Mein Computer hat kaum noch Speicher? | My PC barely has any memory anymore |
| Wie sehr gefällt dir das? | How much do you like this? | Es gefällt mir einigermaßen. | I like it averagely |
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