Learn German: Ihr müsst draußen bleiben.

Ihr müsst draußen bleiben.

You have to stay outside.

Breakdown of Ihr müsst draußen bleiben.

ihr

you (informal plural)

Questions & Answers about Ihr müsst draußen bleiben.

Who exactly is ihr in this sentence?

Ihr is the plural, informal word for "you" in German. You use it when you are talking directly to two or more people whom you know well, like friends, family, or children. Think of it like saying "you all" or "you guys" in English.

Why is the verb müsst instead of müssen?

Müsst is the conjugated form of the modal verb müssen (to have to / must) that goes with ihr. Notice that for the plural ihr, the verb keeps its umlaut (the two dots over the u), unlike the singular forms such as ich muss or du musst.

The translation says "have to", but doesn't müssen mean "must"?

It means both! In English, "must" can sound very strict, bossy, or formal, so we usually say "have to" in daily life. In German, müssen is just the normal, everyday word for both "must" and "have to".

Why is bleiben (to stay) all the way at the very end of the sentence?

This is the golden rule of German modal verbs! The modal verb (müsst) takes the second position in the sentence. The main action verb (bleiben) gets pushed all the way to the end in its basic, unchanged dictionary form (the infinitive).

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