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### The conditional with "würde"

To describe hypothetical situations—things you *would* do—German pairs the auxiliary verb **würde** with the infinitive form of a main verb.

In a standard sentence, the conjugated **würde** takes the second position, and the infinitive of the main verb is placed at the very end.

| Pronoun | würde (would) |
|---|---|
| ich | würde |
| du | würdest |
| er/sie/es | würde |
| wir | würden |
| ihr | würdet |
| sie/Sie | würden |

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### Polite requests

You can also use **würde** to make polite requests, much like asking "Would you...?" in English. To form the question, move the conjugated **würde** to the first position. The main verb stays in its infinitive form at the end.

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### Subordinate clauses

If you use **würde** in a subordinate clause (starting with a conjunction like **dass** or **wenn**), the conjugated **würde** is pushed to the very end of the clause. It will appear immediately *after* the infinitive main verb.

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### Separable verbs

When you use **würde** with a separable verb, the main verb stays in its full infinitive form at the end of the sentence. Because it isn't conjugated, the prefix does not separate.

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If a separable verb is used alongside **würde** in a subordinate clause, the infinitive remains intact, and **würde** follows it at the very end.

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Polite requests and hypotheticals (würde)

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)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

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)

Question	Answer
would (conditional auxiliary)	würde
the request	die Bitte
I would never forget your request.	Ich würde deine Bitte nie vergessen.
He forgets the request immediately.	Er vergisst die Bitte sofort.
the sugar	der Zucker
Would you drink the tea with sugar?	Würden Sie den Tee mit Zucker trinken?
The guest takes the sugar.	Der Gast nimmt den Zucker.
the salt	das Salz
to pass	reichen
Would you please pass us the salt?	Würden Sie uns bitte das Salz reichen?
The salt is on the table.	Das Salz steht auf dem Tisch.
I would pass it to you immediately.	Ich würde es dir sofort reichen.
the cookie	der Keks
The boy is eating a cookie.	Der Junge isst einen Keks.
I would give it to my little brother.	Ich würde ihn meinem kleinen Bruder geben.
the guest room	das Gästezimmer
Would you sleep in the guest room?	Würden Sie im Gästezimmer schlafen?
We would tidy up the guest room today.	Wir würden das Gästezimmer heute aufräumen.
the blanket	die Decke
She would lie on the sofa with a warm blanket.	Sie würde mit einer warmen Decke auf dem Sofa liegen.
Would you fetch me the blanket?	Würdest du mir die Decke holen?
to stay overnight	übernachten
Would your parents stay overnight here?	Würden deine Eltern hier übernachten?
I know that he would stay overnight.	Ich weiß, dass er übernachten würde.
to turn on	einschalten
Would you please turn on the lamp?	Würdest du bitte die Lampe einschalten?
He sees that you turn on the computer.	Er sieht, dass du den Computer einschaltest.
to turn off	ausschalten
Would you guys turn off the television?	Würdet ihr den Fernseher ausschalten?
We hope that they would turn off the radio.	Wir hoffen, dass sie das Radio ausschalten würden.
Would you please pass the cookie?	Würden Sie bitte den Keks reichen?