Word
Ich habe meine Pflicht tun wollen, aber ich habe dringend gehen müssen.
Meaning
I wanted to do my duty, but I urgently had to leave.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ich habe meine Pflicht tun wollen, aber ich habe dringend gehen müssen.
ich
I
haben
to have
aber
but
mein
my
Questions & Answers about Ich habe meine Pflicht tun wollen, aber ich habe dringend gehen müssen.
Why does this sentence use tun wollen and gehen müssen instead of the past participles gewollt and gemusst?
This is the double infinitive rule in action. When a modal verb like wollen or müssen is used in the Perfekt tense alongside another main verb (like tun or gehen), we use the infinitive form of both verbs instead of a past participle.
How does word order work at the end of the clause with a double infinitive?
The conjugated helping verb (habe) takes the standard second position in the sentence. The two infinitives are pushed to the very end of the clause. The main action verb (tun or gehen) is placed first, immediately followed by the modal verb (wollen or müssen).
Do Germans actually use this complex double infinitive in everyday speech?
They understand it, but they usually avoid it. For modal verbs, German speakers strongly prefer the simple past (Präteritum) over the Perfekt tense because it is much simpler. You are far more likely to hear: Ich wollte meine Pflicht tun, aber ich musste dringend gehen.
Why is tun used here instead of machen for 'to do'?