2.23 Konjunktiv II — the German subjunctive of unreality — Epoché
What you will be able to do Recognise and use the three everyday forms of the German subjunctive of unreality: wäre , hätte and würde with an infinitive. Build an unreal condition in both orders: Wenn ich reich wäre, würde ich dir helfen. and Wäre ich reich, würde ich den Armen helfen. Express a wish that cannot come true: Wenn ich nur jünger wäre! and Ich wünschte, er wäre hier. Give advice with an deiner Stelle and du solltest . Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the German aloud; all of them come back below. German English Ich wünschte, es gäbe etwas, was ich tun könnte, um zu helfen. [1] I wish that there were something I could do to help. Ich wünschte, ich wäre Millionär. [2] I wish I were a millionaire. Wenn es keine Sonne gäbe, wären alle Tiere tot. [3] If there was no sun, all the animals would be dead. Es wäre nett gewesen, wenn Sie früher hier angekommen wären. [4] It would have been nice if you'd gotten here earlier. Wenn ich an deiner Stelle wäre, ginge ich ihm zur Hand. [5] If I were in your place, I would lend him a hand. An deiner Stelle würde ich abwarten. [6] If I were you, I would wait and see. Wenn ich Flügel hätte, würde ich zu dir fliegen. [7] If I had wings, I would fly to you. Wenn ich jünger wäre, ginge ich mit meinen Kindern wandern. [8] If I were younger, I'd go hiking with my children. Prerequisites : 4.12 — you need the simple past of strong verbs from 3.10 Verbs , the forms of sein , haben and the modals in the past from 3.8 Verbs , and the subordinate clause with wenn and the verb at the end from 2.12 Grammar . Every language needs a way to talk about things that are not so: what you would do if you won the lottery, what you wish were different, what you would say in someone else's place. English does this with a past tense that does not mean the past ( if I had time ) and with would . German does almost exactly the same thing. Its name for the form is Konjunktiv II , the second subjunctive, and you have already met it in the polite phrase ich hätte gern and in ich möchte , which is the subjunctive of mögen . This lesson makes the system visible. The forms The Konjunktiv II is built on the simple past. For most verbs, everyday German uses würde with an infinitive instead of the verb's own form. Only a handful of very common verbs keep their own form in speech, and these are the ones to learn first. Infinitive Simple past Konjunktiv II English sein war wäre would be, were haben hatte hätte would have, had werden wurde würde would können konnte könnte could müssen musste müsste would have to sollen sollte sollte should, ought to wissen wusste wüsste would know, knew geben gab gäbe would give kommen kam käme would come gehen ging ginge would go The rule behind the table is short. Take the simple past, add an umlaut if the vowel can take one ( a , o , u ), and add the endings -e, -est, -e, -en, -et, -en : ich wäre, du wärest, er wäre, wir wären, ihr wäret, sie wären . In everyday German the e of the second person drops: du wärst , ihr wärt . Sollen and wollen take no umlaut, so their subjunctive looks exactly like their past. For weak verbs the subjunctive is identical to the simple past ( ich machte ), which is why German replaces it with würde machen : without würde , nobody could tell the two apart. In real sentences The unreal condition. The wenn clause has the verb at the end; the main clause follows with its verb first, because the whole wenn clause fills the first position. German English Wenn ich reich wäre, würde ich dir helfen. [9] If I were rich, I would help you. Wenn ich Zeit hätte, könnte ich dir helfen. [10] If I had time, I could help you. Wenn ich Zeit hätte, würde ich Französisch lernen. [11] If I had time, I would study French. Wenn ich du wäre, würde ich abwarten. [12] If I were you, I would wait and see. Es wäre schön, wenn er käme. [13] It would be nice if he were to come. The older, shorter forms. In writing, and in some regions also in speech, the verb's own subjunctive replaces würde . You need to recognise these forms when you read; you do not need to produce them yet. German English Wenn ich reich wäre, gäbe ich dir Geld. [14] If I were rich, I'd give you money. Wenn ich reich wäre, ginge ich ins Ausland. [15] If I were rich, I would go abroad. Without wenn . The condition can begin with the verb itself, just as English can say Were I rich or Had I known . German English Wäre ich reich, würde ich den Armen helfen. [16] Were I rich, I would help the poor. Wäre ich jünger, würde ich im Ausland studieren. [17] If I were younger, I would go abroad to study. Hätte ich doch mehr Zeit! [18] If only I had more time. Wishes. A wish that cannot come true takes wenn … nur , doch or ich wünschte . German English Wenn ich nur jünger wäre. [19] If only I were younger. Wenn ich nur Flügel hätte! [20] If only I had wings! Wenn ich nur wüsste! [21] I wish I knew. Ich wünschte, er wäre hier. [22] I wish he were here. Ich wünschte, es wäre so. [23] I wish it were like that. Advice and possibility. German English An deiner Stelle würde ich gehen. [24] I would go if I were you. Du solltest gehen. [25] You should leave. Ich könnte mich irren. [26] I could be wrong. Das wäre nett. [27] That would be nice. How English does it The same idea, the same raw material. English builds its unreal conditions from the past tense and would : If I had time, I would help you. German does the same: the Konjunktiv II grows out of the simple past, and würde is the subjunctive of werden , the verb you already use for the future. The sentence Wenn ich Zeit hätte, würde ich dir helfen maps onto the English one word for word, apart from the order. This is one of the rare places where your English instincts are a reliable guide. German marks the form; English hides it. English has only one surviving past-subjunctive form, were in if I were you , and many speakers now say if I was you . Everywhere else the English unreal form looks like the past. German has k