The Subjunctive (German der Konjunktiv) mood is used to talk about hypothetical but unlikely situations, often with a condition, introduced by wenn = if, and a result, introduced by dann. It is characterized by past-like verb forms in non-past contexts. Let's consider some English examples:
If he were here right now, I'd tell him a thing or two.
Analysis
- In the if-clause, which expresses the "contrary-to-fact" (highly unlikely) condition, English uses a past-like form in a present context to show that we are in subjunctive mood (= mode).
- In the then-clause, a different construction, (woul)d + infinitive, expresses the hypothetical result if this condition were fulfilled.
To talk about hypothetical events in the the past, we use "subjunctive" forms of have + past participle:
If I'd (had) known then what I know now, I'd (would) have done things very differently.
Besides speculation about hypothetical situations, we also use the subjunctive in English to make a question or suggestion more polite:
Could you help me a moment, please?
Would you care for some more coffee?
In German, the subjunctive is formed in one of two ways, depending on the verb:
1. One-piece construction, in modern spoken German restricted to haben, sein, werden, wissen, a few other frequent verbs, and the modal auxiliaries, consisting of
Past Stem + -e-ful endings, e.g.
sein: ich war -> ich wäre, du wärest, er wäre, wir wären, ihr wäret, sie/Sie wären
(Strong and irregular verbs usually show Umlaut if possible; other exampleskommen > käme, bringen > brächte; the modal verbs have the vowel of the infinitive.)
| ich wäre, hätte,
möchte, müsste, würde, wüsste usw. (but wollte, sollte without Umlaut) |
wir wären, hätten, möchten, müssten, würden, wüssten |
| du wärest, hättest, möchtest, müsstest, würdest, wüsstest | ihr wäret, hättet, möchtet, müsstet, würdet, wüsstet |
| er / sie / es wäre,
hätte, möchte, müsste, würde, wüsste (as in Past tense, no final -t!) |
sie / Sie ('they / you') wären, hätten, möchten, müssten, würden, wüssten |
2. Two-piece construction, used with most other verbs, consisting of
würde + infinitive, e.g. sprechen: ich spreche -> ich würde sprechen
(du würdest, er würde, wir würden, ihr würdet, sie/Sie würden)
| 1-piece | condition, i.e. if-clause | If I had enough money |
| 2-piece | result, i.e. then-clause | I would be somewhere on spring break. |
| 1-piece | short list of common
verbs (see above) |
Sie wären mir bestimmt böse, |
| 2-piece | all other verbs | wenn ich das sagen würde. |
3. Past vs. non-past time.
Despite their "past-like" appearance, the forms in 1 and 2 refer to present or future time. To refer to past times in the subjunctive, use the subjunctive of the appropriate auxiliary haben or sein plus the past participle of the main verb.
Wenn ich es bloß gewusst hätte, wäre ich nicht gekommen.
1. Wishes that are unlikely to be fulfilled
| Most verbs | Wenn subject (bloß/nur 'only') ...infinitive + form of würde, | (dann) form of würde -- subject etc. ...verb in infinitive |
| Wenn er mir nur helfen würde, If he only helped me |
dann würde ich es bestimmt schaffen. I would definitely manage. |
|
| One-piece verbs | Wenn subject (bloß/nur 'only') ...subjunctive form, (see above) | (dann) subjunctive form -- subject etc. |
| Wenn du es mir nur kaufen könntest, If only you could buy it for me |
dann wäre ich glücklich. I would be happy. |
hätte ich..
2. als ob
als (ob)
3. ellipsis
4. politeness
5. Indirekte Rede