German Subjunctive II
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Lesson Outline
HideThe usage and formation of the subjunctive II
The subjuncitve II is mostly used to express wishes that are (currently) not possible. Additionally you can use the Subjunctive to make a request more polite.
- "Ich wünschte ich hätte mehr Geld" (I wish I had more money) - Expressing a wish
- "Könntest du mir bitte die Butter reichen?" (Could you please pass me the butter?) - Making a polite request
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1) How to form the German present Subjunctive II
A good way to memorize how to form the subjunctive II is to go through the simple-past-form and add the correct ending. For example
Infinitive: gehen (to walk) → Simple past: Er ging (he walked) → Subjunctive II: Er ginge (He would walk)
| Infinitive | Subjunctive II |
|---|---|
| Gehen | Er/Sie/Es ginge |
| Lassen | Er/Sie/Es ließe |
| Schlafen | Er/Sie/Es schliefe |
| Stehen | Er/Sie/Es stände |
The Würde-form of the German Subjunctive II
For some weak and mixed verbs the Subjunctive II doesn't differ from the normal simple past form. For these cases there is the "Würde"-Variation of the Subjunctive II. You build this form by just conjugating the word würde (would) to the correct person and adding the verb in its infinitive form. A few examples
| Simple past / Normal Subjunctive II | Würde-form |
|---|---|
Ich arbeitete (I worked) | Ich würde arbeiten (I would work) |
Du studiertest (You studied) | Du würdest studieren (You would study) |
Sie lernte (she learned) | Sie würde lernen (She would learn) |
2) How to form the German past Subjunctive II
You can also use the subjunctive II in the past tense. For this you have to conjugate the auxiliary word "sein / haben" and combine them with the participle 2 of the verb. A few examples
| Person | Sein | Haben | Fragen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ich | wäre gewesen | hätten gehabt | hätte gefragt |
| Du | wärst gewesen | hättest gehabt | hättest gefragt |
| Er/Sie/Es | wäre gewesen | hätte gehabt | hätte gefragt |
| Wir | wären gewesen | hätten gehabt | hätten gefragt |
| Ihr | wärt gewesen | hättet gehabt | hättet gefragt |
| Sie | wären gewesen | hätten gehabt | hätten gefragt |
Now, that you have learned about the subjunctive II you can test your knowledge in the following exercise!
Exercises
Exercise for German Subjunctive II
Exercise: Build the subjunctive 2
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