Breakdown of Ich wollte die Prüfung ohne Hilfe schaffen, aber ich konnte es nicht.
ich
I
es
it
aber
but
nicht
not
können
can / to be able to
wollen
to want
ohne
without
die Hilfe
the help
die Prüfung
the exam
schaffen
to manage / to accomplish
Questions & Answers about Ich wollte die Prüfung ohne Hilfe schaffen, aber ich konnte es nicht.
How do we form the past tense forms wollte and konnte?
These are the simple past (Präteritum) forms of the modal verbs wollen (to want) and können (to be able to). To form them, you take the stem of the verb, remove any umlauts, and add a -te ending for 'ich'. That is why können loses its dots and becomes konnte.
Why is the verb schaffen (to pass/manage) placed after ohne Hilfe?
Because of the modal verb wollte. In a main clause, the conjugated modal verb takes the second position, and it kicks the main action verb (schaffen) all the way to the end of the clause in its dictionary form (infinitive).
Does the word aber affect the word order in the second half of the sentence?
No, aber (but) is a 'position 0' conjunction. It glues the two sentences together but does not count as the first idea in the new clause. Because of this, the subject ich takes position 1, and the verb konnte safely takes position 2.
Why do we need the word es in ich konnte es nicht, when the English translation just says 'I couldn't'?
In German, it sounds incomplete to end on a modal verb like konnte without saying what you could or could not do. The es (it) acts as a placeholder for the entire action of passing the exam. Literally, it means 'I could not do it'.
Why is there no article before Hilfe, and what case is it in?
The preposition ohne (without) always forces the following noun into the accusative case. Here, 'without help' is a general concept, so we drop the article just like in English. If we wanted to say 'without the help', it would be ohne die Hilfe.
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