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Topic test · A1

The verb müssen test

13questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
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Topic test

13 questions, easy to hard

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

The German for “I have to work today.”:

Correct. In a statement the modal verb (muss) is in second position and the infinitive (arbeiten) at the end. No “zu”.

“You don’t have to come.” (no need)

Correct. nicht müssen = no need / free choice. nicht dürfen = forbidden. Word order: subject + modal + nicht + infinitive.

The correct form for “He has to go.”:

Correct. With modal verbs the er/sie/es form is the same as the ich form (muss) — no ending.

The German for “Do you (all) have to come today?”:

Correct. The ihr form is müsst (umlaut + double s). In a question the modal verb comes first. Infinitive at the end, no “zu”.

“Smoking is not allowed here.” (no permission)

Correct. For a ban you use nicht dürfen. nicht müssen would mean “no need to”.

Past tense (Präteritum): “I had to get up early.”

Correct. In speech, musste (Präteritum) is the normal way to talk about the past. aufstehen is a separable verb; the infinitive comes together at the end.

“Yesterday I had to work.” (Perfekt)

arbeiten müssen. When a second verb sits next to the modal, the modal stays an infinitive in the Perfekt — this is called the Ersatzinfinitiv. gemusst is used only when the modal stands alone: Ich habe es gemusst. In everyday speech people usually prefer the Präteritum instead: Ich musste gestern arbeiten.

du am Wochenende arbeiten?

Do you have to work at the weekend?

The du form is musst; müsst belongs to ihr. The umlaut gives away the person.

Where does the infinitive go? — Ich muss heute lange .

I have to work for a long time today.

The modal is conjugated; the main verb goes to the end as an infinitive: Ich muss … arbeiten.

“You DON’T HAVE TO get up early tomorrow” — which one?

nicht müssen = no need. nicht dürfen would be a ban — don’t let the English “must not” pull you into the trap.

The sentence «Ich müssen gehen.» is correct.

False. The first person singular is ich muss; müssen is only used with wir, sie and Sie.

Wir heute arbeiten.

We have to work today.

müssen. With wir, sie and Sie the modal verb müssen has the same form as the infinitive; the umlaut only drops in the singular (ich muss).

Build the sentence: You have to go now.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

Du musst jetzt gehen. müssen is conjugated to match the subject (du musst); the main action (gehen) goes to the very end.
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. müssen = to have to

    Inner or outer necessity: Ich muss arbeiten · Er muss gehen. Infinitive to the end.

    Ich muss heute arbeiten.

  2. nicht müssen = no need

    The biggest modal trap: Du musst nicht kommen means “you don’t have to come”, NOT “you mustn’t come”.

    Du musst nicht kommen.

  3. Conjugation: umlaut in the plural

    ich/er muss · du musst — wir/sie müssen · ihr müsst.

    musst du? · müsst ihr?

  4. Past: musste or the double infinitive

    Präteritum is the natural choice: Ich musste früh aufstehen. If you build a Perfekt, a double infinitive appears: Ich habe arbeiten müssen.

    Ich musste früh aufstehen.

Traps

Commonly mixed up

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

  • Du musst nicht rauchen. (when you mean it is forbidden)

    Du darfst nicht rauchen.

    nicht müssen lets someone off the hook; it does not forbid.

  • Ich habe gestern arbeiten gemusst.

    Ich habe gestern arbeiten müssen.

    In the Perfekt a modal verb uses the infinitive instead of the participle (double infinitive).

  • Müsst du heute arbeiten?

    Musst du heute arbeiten?

    du → musst; müsst belongs only to ihr.

  • Ich muss heute arbeite.

    Ich muss heute arbeiten.

    After a modal, the main verb stays an INFINITIVE.