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### The modal verb: müssen

The modal verb **müssen** is used to express obligation or necessity—things you "must" or "have to" do.

Like other modal verbs, the singular forms have a stem vowel change (from **ü** to **u**), and the **ich** and **er/sie/es** forms are identical with no ending.

| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| ich | muss |
| du | musst |
| er/sie/es | muss |
| wir | müssen |
| ihr | müsst |
| sie/Sie | müssen |

### Sentence structure

Remember the "sentence bracket" rule: the conjugated modal verb takes the second position, and the main action verb is pushed to the very end of the sentence in its infinitive (dictionary) form.

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For yes/no questions, the conjugated modal verb moves to the very first position, but the main action verb still stays at the end.

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### The modal verb: dürfen

The modal verb **dürfen** expresses permission—things you "may" or "are allowed to" do.

Its singular forms also have a stem vowel change, this time from **ü** to **a**.

| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| ich | darf |
| du | darfst |
| er/sie/es | darf |
| wir | dürfen |
| ihr | dürft |
| sie/Sie | dürfen |

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### Prohibition (must not)

In English, "must not" sounds like the opposite of "must." However, in German, to say that something is prohibited (that you "must not" do it), you use **dürfen** with a negative word like **nicht** or **kein**. It literally translates to "not allowed to."

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When combining two clauses, you can contrast what is prohibited with what is required:

{{item:863954}}

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Subordinate clauses for reasons (weil)

Question	Answer
to have to, must	müssen
early	früh
to get up	aufstehen
I have to get up early tomorrow.	Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.
When do you have to get up?	Wann musst du aufstehen?
for a long time, long	lange
We have to work for a long time today.	Wir müssen heute lange arbeiten.
the doctor	der Arzt
to wait	warten
Unfortunately, the doctor has to wait here.	Der Arzt muss leider hier warten.
I have to buy the ticket now.	Ich muss das Ticket jetzt kaufen.
to stay	bleiben
You have to stay outside.	Ihr müsst draußen bleiben.
Does the boss have to come early today?	Muss der Chef heute früh kommen?
to be allowed to, may	dürfen
to park	parken
May I park the car here?	Darf ich das Auto hier parken?
You may park here.	Hier dürfen Sie parken.
to smoke	rauchen
We are not allowed to smoke here.	Wir dürfen hier nicht rauchen.
The children are not allowed to drink wine.	Die Kinder dürfen keinen Wein trinken.
Are you allowed to watch the movie?	Darfst du den Film sehen?
The doctor is here, but we have to wait a long time.	Der Arzt ist hier, aber wir müssen lange warten.
You are not allowed to smoke here, you must stay outside.	Sie dürfen hier nicht rauchen, Sie müssen draußen bleiben.
to like	mögen
I like coffee.	Ich mag Kaffee.
Do you like the music?	Magst du die Musik?

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