Konjunktiv 2: Special Verb Forms Explained

In this lesson you will learn a very short list of verbs that have their own unique Konjunktiv 2 forms.

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

Which Verbs Use Their Special Konjunktiv 2 Form?

While it is true that technically almost all verbs have a Konjunktiv 2 form, not all of them are used. This happens for a long list of reasons, but the main ones include: it is easier to just use “würde” plus an infinitive or that the Konjunktiv 2 form of the verb is the same or very similar to another form of the same verb, which may lead to some confusion.

You have already been introduced to two verbs that use their own unique version for Konjunktiv 2, “haben” and “sein”. They become “hätte” and “wäre” respectively. You also know the verb “werden”, which becomes “würde”. Of course you still have to conjugate the verbs after that.

In addition to these verbs, which I covered in previous lessons in this series, there is also the verb “geben”. In the Präteritum form of the verb, it becomes “gab”.

Following the rules we used for “haben”, “sein” and “werden”, we can find that the Konjunktiv 2 version is “gäbe”. Then we just have to conjugate for the other forms. Here it is all together.

ich gäbe - I would give
du gäbest - you would give
er, sie, es gäbe - he, she, it would give
wir gäben - we would give
ihr gäbet - you would give
sie, Sie gäben - they, you would give

While it is possible to use this verb in the sense of actually giving something to someone, it is more likely that you will use “es gäbe” to say “there would be” as the Konjunktiv 2 version of “there is”.

Es gäbe noch Dinosaurier, wenn es diesen Meteorit nicht gegeben hätte. -
There would still be dinosaurs, if there weren’t this meteorite.

Es gäbe mehr Kuchen, wenn du Herrn Antrim nicht eingeladen hättest. -
There would be more cake, if you hadn’t invited Herr Antrim.

If you want to say something like “I would give…” I recommend using the “würde” construction instead.

Ich würde Herrn Antrim einen Daumen hoch geben. -
I would give Herr Antrim a thumbs up.

The verb “wissen” is also quite commonly used in its Konjunktiv 2 form.

Following the same pattern as before we go from “wissen” to “wusste” and finally to “wüsste”. The full conjugation is as follows.

ich wüsste - I would know
du wüsstest - you would know
er, sie, es wüsste - he, she, it would know
wir wüssten - we would know
ihr wüsstet - you would know
sie, Sie wüssten - they, you would know

Example sentences:

Wenn ich nur wüsste, dass du solche Probleme hast, würde ich dir helfen. -
If I only knew that you had problems like that, I would help you.

Wenn ich ein Fisch wäre, wüsste ich, wie man unter Wasser singt. -
If I were a fish, I would know how to sing underwater.

Irregular Verbs in Konjunktiv 2

All of the irregular verbs in German are going to follow this pattern. Start with the Präteritum form of the verb and add an umlaut, if you can, and an E.

kommen (come) - kam - käme
gehen (go) - ging - ginge
sehen (see) - sah - sähe
finden (find) - fand - fände
nehmen (take) - nahm - nähme
sprechen (speak) - sprach - spräche
essen (eat) - aß - äße
trinken (drink) - trank - tränke
schlafen (sleep) - schlief - schliefe

Just for good measure, here are a few more examples I stole from the song “Hey, Girl” by Cro.

Wärst du Langeweile, stände ich gerne mal im Stau. -
If you were boredom, I would gladly stay in a traffic jam. (“Hey, Girl” von Cro)

This example uses the verb “stehen” “stand” in Präteritum and “stände” in Konjunktiv 2.

Und wärst du ein Verbrechen, säße ich längst schon im Bau. -
And if you were a crime, I would sit in jail for a long time.

This example uses the verb “sitzen” “saß” in Präteritum and “säße” in Konjunktiv 2.

Wärst du 'ne Dauerwelle, fände ich die Eighties nice. -
If you were a perm, I would find the 80s nice.

This example uses the verb “finden” “fand” in Präteritum and “fände” in Konjunktiv 2.

If you didn’t know, pretty much that entire song is written in Konjunktiv 2. Not all of the examples he gives are school appropriate, but he uses a lot of “wäre”, “hätte” and “würde” along with the examples I gave. Definitely worth a listen after you finish this lesson.

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