Genau
Topic test · A1

Modal verbs test

22questions
13minutes
60%pass mark
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One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

22 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

Ich gut Deutsch sprechen.

I can speak German well.

kann. With a modal verb ich takes no ending — there is no ich kanne. ich and er are identical.

Du musst nicht kommen. What does this mean?

You don’t have to come.

You don’t have to come. A ban would be Du darfst nicht kommen. nicht müssen = freedom, nicht dürfen = ban.

You are ordering in a café. Which sentence?

I’d like a tea, please.

Ich möchte … For orders and requests, möchten. wollen sounds harsh, and mögen means “to like” — not an order.

Gestern ich arbeiten. (müssen)

Yesterday I had to work.

musste. Modal verbs use the Präteritum in the past, even in speech: musste · konnte · durfte · wollte. The Umlaut drops, -te is added. müsste is Konjunktiv — it means “would have to”.

In which sentence is the word order correct?

I can’t come today.

Ich kann heute nicht kommen. The infinitive is at the very end; nicht right before it; the time expression (heute) comes earlier.

du mir helfen?

Can you help me?

Kannst. Only ich and er/sie/es take no ending; du takes -st like a regular verb. The stem vowel stays a in the singular.

Hier man nicht rauchen.

You can’t smoke here.

darf. The verb that states a ban is dürfen. man takes the third-person singular form: darf, not darfst. In everyday speech you also hear Hier kann man nicht rauchen; the language of the sign is darf.

Wir morgen früh aufstehen.

We have to get up early tomorrow.

müssen. In the plural the Umlaut comes back: muss in the singular, müssen in the plural. müsst is for ihr.

Ich muss heute . (arbeiten)

I have to work today.

arbeiten. The final verb is not conjugated, stays an infinitive and takes no zu. The English “have to work” habit misleads you here.

Der Arzt sagt, ich mehr Wasser trinken.

The doctor says I should drink more water.

soll. sollen carries not your wish but someone else’s: the doctor, your boss, your mother. With will you would want to drink water yourself.

Er sehr gut kochen. (können)

He can cook very well.

kann. er stays bare just like ich — where a regular verb adds -t (er kocht), here you add nothing.

Als Kind ich nicht schwimmen. (können · past)

As a child I couldn’t swim.

konnte. The Umlaut drops: können → konnte. könnte (with Umlaut) is something else entirely — “could / would be able to”, i.e. Konjunktiv.

Ich Schokolade. (I like it — no verb at the end)

I like chocolate.

mag. mögen expresses liking and stands alone, with no infinitive after it. möchte would mean “I’d like a chocolate right now” — wanting, not liking.

Where does nicht go — which sentence is correct?

I’m not allowed to park here.

Ich darf hier nicht parken. nicht stands right before the infinitive. The second option can be built too, but the meaning changes: “not here, somewhere else” — it stresses the place, not the action.

Ihr jetzt gehen.

You (all) may go now.

dürft. It is plural, so the Umlaut is back; it is ihr, so the ending is -t. dürfen is for wir and sie.

Ich dich gestern anrufen, aber mein Handy war kaputt.

I wanted to call you yesterday, but my phone was broken.

wollte. The second half of the sentence is in the past (war), so the first half must be too. wollen has no Umlaut anyway; all it does is take -te.

Du nicht kommen. (it is forbidden)

You are forbidden to come.

darfst. The twin of the question above, from the other side: a ban is expressed with nicht dürfen. With Du musst nicht kommen you would say the exact opposite — “you needn’t come”.

Ich muss zu arbeiten. — what is wrong with this sentence?

I have to work.

No zu after a modal verb. zu + infinitive is a different structure: Ich habe keine Zeit zu arbeiten. There is no modal verb there, so zu is needed.

What is the difference between Ich möchte and Ich will?

I want — two different tones.

A difference in tone. Formally, möchte is the Konjunktiv of mögen — and in German the Konjunktiv means politeness. At the till, Ich will eine Tüte doesn’t sound like “I’d like a bag” but like “I want a bag, now”.

Why is the past of a modal verb not built with the Perfekt?

I was able to / I couldn’t.

In everyday speech the Präteritum is used. The participles exist (gekonnt · gemusst) but are almost never heard. In German the Präteritum is usually the written language; modal verbs and sein/haben are the exception to that rule — in speech, too, they are the ones preferred.

In a sentence with a modal verb, the main verb always goes to the very end, conjugated.

False. The main verb goes to the very end but is not conjugated; it stays an infinitive (-en).

Build the sentence: I have to learn German today.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

The modal verb (müssen) is conjugated for the subject and takes second position, while the main action (lernen) goes to the very end as an infinitive.
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. ich and er are identical

    With a modal verb, the first and third person singular take no ending — there is no ich kanne. In the plural the stem vowel returns to its original form.

    ich kann · er kann · wir können

  2. The infinitive waits at the very end

    The conjugated modal stands in second position, the main verb goes to the end of the sentence as an infinitive. Whatever is in between stays between the two, and no zu follows a modal verb.

    Ich muss heute früh aufstehen.

  3. The past is spoken in the Präteritum

    Modal verbs have a Perfekt form on paper, but nobody builds it in everyday speech. The Umlaut drops, -te is added.

    ich musste · ich konnte · ich wollte

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • Ich kanne Deutsch.

    Ich kann Deutsch.

    Regular-verb habit: adding -e like ich mache. With a modal verb, ich stays bare.

  • Du musst nicht kommen. = “You’re forbidden to come”

    Du darfst nicht kommen. = “You’re forbidden to come”

    nicht müssen is freedom, not a ban. The one that states a ban is nicht dürfen.

  • Ich muss zu arbeiten.

    Ich muss arbeiten.

    The English habit of “have to work” makes people add zu. After a modal verb the infinitive is bare.

  • Ich habe nicht kommen gekonnt.

    Ich konnte nicht kommen.

    Not grammatically wrong, but nobody talks like this. The past of a modal is the Präteritum.