Word
Wir haben Hunger und möchten bestellen.
Meaning
We are hungry and would like to order.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Wir haben Hunger und möchten bestellen.
Why does the sentence use haben Hunger instead of "are hungry"?
In German, you do not say that you are hungry. Instead, you say that you have hunger. So, Wir haben Hunger translates literally to "We have hunger," which is the standard way Germans express "We are hungry."
Why is möchten used here instead of a word like wollen (to want)?
möchten means "would like to," which is a polite way to express a wish or desire. You could use wollen to say you want to order, but möchten is much more polite and appropriate when speaking to staff in a restaurant! It ends in -en here because it matches the subject wir (we).
Why doesn't the sentence say "und wir möchten bestellen"?
Just like in English, you do not need to repeat the subject if it is the same for both parts of the sentence. "We are hungry and would like to order" is perfectly fine. It is totally correct to say und wir möchten bestellen, but dropping the second wir sounds a bit more natural.
Why is bestellen at the very end of the sentence?
This is a strict rule when using modal verbs like möchten. The modal verb (möchten) is changed to match the subject and takes the normal verb spot. The main action verb (bestellen, meaning "to order") gets pushed all the way to the end of the sentence in its original dictionary form.