B1Verbs18 exercises
Modalverben im Präteritum
Modal Verbs in the Simple Past (Präteritum)
Simple past of modal verbs: konnte, musste, durfte, wollte, sollte, mochte — formation, conjugation, and use in narratives.
How the rule begins
German has a special situation with modal verbs: in spoken language the past is normally expressed with the Perfekt. With modal verbs, however, the Präteritum is usually preferred — in conversation as well as in writing. The reason is that the Perfekt of the modal verbs (the double infinitive) sounds clumsy.
The rest of the explanation, the examples and the exercises are in the full lesson.
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