You already know the modal verb wollen expresses a desire or intention ("to want"). However, just like sollen, it has a subjective use.
While sollen reports general rumors ("is supposed to"), wollen reports what someone personally claims to be true about themselves, often when the speaker doubts their story. It translates to "claims to" or "insists that."
Making Claims in the Present
To express what a person claims to be or do right now, use the conjugated form of wollen in the second position, and push the main verb to the end of the sentence in its infinitive form.
| The scammer claims not to know the victim. | Der Betrüger will das Opfer nicht kennen. |
| He denies the guilt and claims to be innocent. | Er leugnet die Schuld und will unschuldig sein. |
Notice how this phrasing subtly distances the speaker from the claim. It implies: "He says he is innocent, but I have my doubts."
Making Claims about the Past
To say someone claims to have done something, you use the perfect infinitive. Place the conjugated wollen in position two, and push the past participle of the main verb immediately followed by the infinitive haben (or sein) to the end of the sentence.
| The woman claims not to have forged the signature. | Die Frau will die Unterschrift nicht gefälscht haben. |
| The perpetrator claims not to have transferred the money. | Der Täter will das Geld nicht überwiesen haben. |
| The boss claims not to have noticed the scammer's trick. | Der Chef will die Masche des Betrügers nicht bemerkt haben. |
Subordinate Clauses
When you use subjective wollen inside a subordinate clause (such as after weil or dass), standard word order applies. The conjugated wollen goes to the very end of the clause.
| We don't believe him because he claims to be innocent. | Wir glauben ihm nicht, weil er unschuldig sein will. |