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Konjunktiv 1 Explained

In this lesson you will learn everything about Konjunktiv 1 in German including when and why you would need to use it, how to form it, which tenses you can use with it and a whole lot more. So grab your notebook and pen and let’s get started.

All Konjunktiv 1 & Konjunktiv 2 Lessons

Konjunktiv 1 vs Konjunktiv 2

Konjunktiv 1 Explained

Konjunktiv 2 Basics with würden

Konjunktiv 2 with hätte & wäre 

Konjunktiv 2 with Special Verbs

Konjunktiv 2 with Modal Verbs 

Konjunktiv 2 Listening Comprehension - Alternative Realities

Polite Requests with Konjunktiv 2 - Konjunktiv 2 Listening Comprehension

When to Use Konjunktiv 1

The Konjunktiv 1 is used when relaying information said by someone else. This is known as “indirect speech”. In everyday speech, however, most Germans will not use the Konjunktiv 1 to report what was said by one of their friends. They would just use the indicative (what you are used to seeing in German). 

If you are below A2, there is pretty much no reason for you to know how to recognize or use the Konjunktiv 1. If you are above that, it might show up on a proficiency exam, but even then, you are probably only going to need to understand what is said and not necessarily how to build it yourself.

Konjunktiv 1 is most commonly used in reporting the news like in a newspaper or newscast.

Und nun zu einer erstaunlichen Geschichte: Unser Reporter vor Ort berichtet, dass eine Gruppe von Katzen beschlossen habe, eine eigene Rockband zu gründen. -
And now to an astonishing story: Our reporter on the scene reports that a group of cats has decided to form their own rock band.

Die Katzen, so heißt es, nennen sich 'The Meowsters' und spielen angeblich auf winzigen Gitarren und Schlagzeugen. -
The cats, it is said, call themselves 'The Meowsters' and supposedly play on tiny guitars and drums.

Es wird gesagt, dass ihre erste Single 'Purrfect Beat' schon nächste Woche erscheinen werde. -
It is said that their first single 'Purrfect Beat' will be released next week.

Ein Augenzeuge behauptet, dass die Katzen sogar in der Lage seien, synchron zu miauen und zu tanzen. -
An eyewitness claims that the cats are even able to meow and dance in sync.

Ob dies wirklich stimmt, bleibt abzuwarten. Bleiben Sie dran für weitere Updates von dieser unglaublichen Geschichte. -
Whether this is really true remains to be seen. Stay tuned for further updates on this incredible story.

Konjunktiv 1 also gives a bit of distance between the person or group reporting the information and the source of the information.

Mein Bruder sagt, er sei in der Schule, aber seine Snapchat Story zeigt eine andere Geschichte. -
My brother says he is in school, but his Snapchat story shows another story.

How to Form Konjunktiv 1

When it comes to forming the Konjunktiv 1, there are 4 tenses to worry about. The Gegenwart (present), Vergangenheit (past), Zukunft (future), and Futur 2 (future perfect). For simplicity's sake, let’s start with the present.

With the exception of “sein” and the modal verbs, the verb forms in the present tense Konjunktiv 1 can be summed up as “normal present tense, but with extra Es”. For example:

machen - to do, make
ich mache - I do, make
du machest - you do, make
er, sie, es mache - he, she, it does, makes
wir machen - we do, make
ihr machet - you do, make
sie, Sie machen - they, you do, make

Notice that the ich, wir and sie (plural) and Sie (formal) forms are identical to the normal forms you are used to seeing. It is for this reason that you either avoid these forms or use the Konjunktiv 2 instead for these forms. Let’s look at the verb “geben” as an example.

geben - to give
ich gebe - I give
du gebest - you give
er, sie, es gebe - he, she, it gives
wir geben - we give
ihr gebet - you give
sie, Sie geben - they, you give

Instead of “Sie behaupten, sie geben dir morgen das Geld.” you would say “Sie behaupten, sie gäben dir morgen das Geld.” (They claim they are giving you the money tomorrow.)

As you can see from the examples using machen and geben, the general rule for creating the present tense versions of the Konjunktiv 1 is to use the ich-form of the verb for the er, sie, es form (meaning there is an E at the end of the verb instead of a T). The du- and ihr-forms add an E between the ST and T respectively. And all of the other forms stay the same as they would have been in the normal present tense.

"sein" in Konjunktiv 2

I mentioned earlier that one exception to the present tense conjugation rules happens with the verb “sein”. Here are its forms.

sein - to be
ich sei - I am
du seist - you are
er, sie, es sei - he, she, it is
wir seien - we are
ihr seiet - you are
sie, Sie seien - they, you are

Der Mann sagt, er sei nicht zu Hause, aber seine Stimme kommt aus dem Haus. -
The man says he is not at home, but his voice is coming from inside the house.

Modal Verbs in Konjunktiv 1

When you use a modal verb in the Konjunktiv 1 in the present tense, you need to memorize their conjugations. Basically they are conjugated as if you were a German 1 student and you didn’t know these verbs are irregular in the present tense. Ich and er, sie, es get an E. Du and Ihr add E before the ST and T respectively. Wir and sie (plural) and Sie (formal) get the same forms as usual, which are pretty much just the infinitives.

dürfen - may, to be allowed to
ich dürfe - I am allowed to
du dürfest - you are allowed to
er, sie, es dürfe - he, she, it is allowed to
wir dürfen - we are allowed to
ihr dürfet - you are allowed to
sie, Sie dürfen - they, you are allowed to

können - can
ich könne - I can
du könnest - you can
er, sie, es könne - he, she, it can
wir können - we can
ihr könnet - you can
sie, Sie können - they, you can

mögen - to like
ich möge - I like
du mögest - you like
er, sie, es möge - he, she, it likes
wir mögen - we like
ihr möget - you like
sie, Sie mögen - they, you like

müssen - must, have to
ich müsse - I have to
du müssest - you have to
er, sie, es müsse - he, she, it has to
wir müssen - we have to
ihr müsset - you have to
sie, Sie müssen - they, you have to

sollen - should, to be supposed to
ich solle - I should
du sollest - you should
er, sie, es solle - he, she, it should
wir sollen - we should
ihr sollet - you should
sie, Sie sollen - they, you should

wollen - to want
ich wolle - I want
du wollest - you want
er, sie, es wolle - he, she, it wants
wir wollen - we want
ihr wollet - you want
sie, Sie wollen - they, you want

Don’t forget that “möchten” is not a real modal verb, as it is technically the Konjunktiv 2 version of “mögen”, which is why it was not listed here.

Past Tense of Konjunktiv 1

When you move to the past tense in the Konjunktiv 1, we use a modified version of the Perfekt tense. This means we conjugate haben or sein in the Konjunktiv 1 and add a past participle at the end of the sentence for the main verb. For example:

Mein Bruder behauptet, er habe einen neuen Mercedes gekauft. -
My brother claims he bought a new Mercedes.

Meine Mutter hat in seine Garage geschaut und das Auto sei nicht da gewesen. -
My mother looked into his garage and the car was not there.

I’ve already shown you the full conjugation of “sein”. Here is the Konjunktiv 1 conjugation of “haben”.

haben - to have
ich habe - I have
du habest - you have
er, sie, es habe - he, she, it has
wir haben - we have
ihr habet - you have
sie, Sie haben - they, you have

If you need a refresher course on the Perfekt tense, click here.

Future Tense of Konjunkitv 1

When you need to express something in the future using the Konjunktiv 1, you have two options. You can use the regular future tense (Futur 1) with the verb “werden” conjugated to the Konjunktiv 1 forms or you can use the Futur 2 version, which includes a past participle at the end of the sentence.

In case you don’t remember, the Futur 1 is simply expressing that the action expressed is likely to occur after the current moment, i.e. the future. The Futur 2, by contrast, shows that something has already been completed at the time of reference in the future.

Before we get to the examples, we need to learn how to conjugate “werden” in the Konjunktiv 1 first.

werden - will
ich werde - I will
du werdest - you will
er, sie, es werde - he, she, it will
wir werden - we will
ihr werdet - you will
sie, Sie werden - they, you will

You’ll notice that the only forms that are really different are the du and er, sie, es forms. This, again, means that you would likely use the Konjunktiv 2 to express the other forms in indirect speech. Let’s try some examples.

Mein Nachbar hat mir erzählt, dass sein Hund eine Adoptionsagentur gründen werde. -
My neighbor told me that his dog is going to start an adoption agency.

Bis 2035 werde die Adoptionsagentur fünftausend Hunde gerettet haben. -
By 2035 the adoption agency will have saved five thousand dogs.

In the first example, I used the regular future tense to talk about something generic in the future, namely the starting of an adoption agency. The second example used the Futur 2 to illustrate that the act of rescuing 5000 dogs will have been completed at the point of reference in 2035.

Learn more about Futur 1 here.

Learn about Futur 2 here.

Konjunktiv 1 Overview

So to recap, the Konjunktiv 1 is used to express indirect speech. You do this by pretending that irregular verbs don’t exist and adding E’s where they otherwise would not be.

You can use the Konjunktiv 1 to express things about the present, future and past including the future perfect tense.

If the Konjunktiv 1 is not readily recognized, because the Konjunktiv 1 version of the verb is identical to the normal conjugation of the verb, you can use the Konjunktiv 2 instead, but it should be clear that it is indirect speech based on the structures you use.

All Konjunktiv 1 & Konjunktiv 2 Lessons

Konjunktiv 1 vs Konjunktiv 2

Konjunktiv 1 Explained

Konjunktiv 2 Basics with würden

Konjunktiv 2 with hätte & wäre 

Konjunktiv 2 with Special Verbs

Konjunktiv 2 with Modal Verbs 

Konjunktiv 2 Listening Comprehension - Alternative Realities

 

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