Konjunktiv – the Subjunctive Mood in German Grammar
How to learn the German Subjunctive I and II
Introduction
The subjunctive is used to describe unreal situations such as wishes, hypothetical situations and unreal conditional sentences, or to repeat what people say in indirect speech.
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Subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I)
The special subjunctive I is primarily used in newspaper articles and reports when statements are being repeated in indirect speech. The special subjunctive is also used in certain idiomatic phrases.
Example: Sie sagte, es sei bekannt, dass sie viel arbeite. She said it was known that she worked a lot.
Usage
The subjunctive I is used to express: indirect speech
Example: Sie sagt, sie habe sich noch nie so jung gefühlt. She says she has never felt so young.
There are a few aspects to keep in mind when conjugating the subjunctive I:
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Only the verb "sein" is still used in all its subjunctive I forms:
ich sei, du sei(e)st, er sei, wir seien, ihr seiet, sie seien.
Example: Sie sagte, sie seien im Supermarkt. She said they were in the supermarket.
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We usually use the subjunctive I only in the 3rd person singular (he/she/it/man) with all other verbs. We only need to remove the n from the infinitive.
Example: haben – er habe, schreiben – er schreibe
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In the 2nd person (du/you), the only difference between the subjunctive I and the indicative is the e before the ending in the subjunctive.
Example: du träumst – du träumest, ihr geht – ihr gehet
It is common to use the subjunctive II in the second person rather than the subjunctive I because it is easier to tell apart from the indicative.
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In the 1st person singular (ich) and 1st and 3rd person plural (wir, sie), there is no difference between the subjunctive I and the indicative, so we have to use the subjunctive II in this situation.
Example: „Sie gehen joggen.“ – Er sagt, sie gingen joggen. (subj. II)
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Tenses in the Subjunctive I
We can use the subjunctive I in the present, present perfect, and future tenses.
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Subjunctive iI (Konjunktiv iI)
The general subjunctive, also: past subjunctive or subjunctive 2 (conjunctive II), is used to express hypothetical situations. It is also used in indirect speech and in courteous questions and statements.
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Usage
We use the subjunctive II for:
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Unreal or a hypothetical wish or hope.
Example: Ich wünschte, ich hätte Urlaub. I wish I were on holiday.
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Unreal statements and conditional sentences (see conditional sentences).
Example: ...und ich könnte in die Sonne fahren.
Wenn ich im Urlaub wäre, läge ich den ganzen Tag am Strand. ...and I could go in the sun.
If I were on holiday, I would lie on the beach all day.
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Indirect speech when the subjunctive I cannot be used (see also indirect speech).
Example: Unsere Lehrerin sagt, wir müssten noch sehr viel lernen. Our teacher says we still have a lot to learn.
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Polite or cautious questions or statements.
Example: Wärst du so freundlich, an die Tafel zu kommen? Would you be so kind as to come to the blackboard?
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Conjugation of German verbs in subjunctive II
There are two types of the subjunctive II, one expresses situations in the present and the other situations in the past.
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Situations in the present tense
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To express situations in the present with the general subjunctive:
We add the subjunctive ending to the stem of the simple past (see table below, in the find column). Strong verbs are given an umlaut.
Example: finden (fand) – er fände (to) find / I would find
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Weak verbs and some mixed verbs look the same in the subjunctive II as they do in the indicative past tense. For this reason, we usually use would (would-form) with these verbs.
Example: ich wartete – ich würde warten (to) wait / I would wait
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In spoken German, the would + infinitive is preferred for many strong verbs.
Example: gehen – ich ginge/ich würde gehen (to) go / I would go
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Situations in the past
When we want to indicate a situation in the past, we use the subjunctive forms of to be/have + past participle.
Example: ich wäre gegangen/ich hätte gesagt I would have gone/I would have said