Beside hätte, wäre and the modal forms, a handful of frequent verbs keep one-word Konjunktiv II forms instead of würde + infinitive. They are built from the Präteritum, usually with an umlaut:
| Präteritum | Konjunktiv II |
|---|---|
| kam | käme |
| ging | ginge |
| gab | gäbe |
| wusste | wüsste |
| fand | fände |
| ließ | ließe |
Written German prefers these forms; spoken German mostly uses würde + infinitive — except gäbe and wüsste, which are standard everywhere:
| Without you there would be no dinner. | Ohne dich gäbe es kein Abendessen. |
| I would not know the answer. | Ich wüsste die Antwort nicht. |
They behave exactly like hätte in conditions and wishes:
| If he had more time, he would come more often. | Wenn er mehr Zeit hätte, käme er öfter. |
| I would gladly go to the cinema more often. | Ich ginge gern öfter ins Kino. |
| Without you I would not find the key. | Ohne dich fände ich den Schlüssel nicht. |
| She would leave the car at home if the weather were better. | Sie ließe das Auto zu Hause, wenn das Wetter besser wäre. |
You must recognize these forms when reading; when speaking, würde + infinitive is always safe — but say es gäbe and ich wüsste, never es würde geben or ich würde wissen.
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