2.35 Subjective use of modals — Er soll krank sein — Epoché
What you will be able to do Use the modal verbs for the speaker's judgement rather than for ability or obligation: Er muss reich gewesen sein , he must have been rich ; Er soll reich sein , he is said to be rich . Express degrees of certainty, from almost certain to merely possible: muss , dürfte , wird wohl , kann or könnte , mag . Report claims and rumours: soll for what others say, will for what the subject claims about himself. Talk about the past with the perfect infinitive: gesehen haben , gewesen sein . Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the German aloud; all of them come back below. German English Sie haben ihr Vermögen verloren. [1] They lost their fortune. Bald darauf verlor er sein Vermögen. [2] A short while later, he lost his fortune. Römer, geht nach Hause! [3] Romans, go home! Wir waren über die Nachricht erstaunt. [4] We were astonished at the news. Der Tradition zufolge war Homer blind. [5] According to the tradition, Homer was blind. Dies ist meine Ausrüstung. [6] This is my equipment. Wir brauchen mehr Ausrüstung. [7] We need more equipment. Prerequisites : 2.34 — you need the modal verbs from 3.4 Verbs , the subjunctive with modals from 2.24 Grammar , the future with werden from 3.12 Verbs , and reported speech from 2.26 Grammar . Every German modal verb has two lives. In the first, it describes the subject: what the subject can, must, may or wants to do. Er kann schwimmen is about his ability. In the second, which grammarians call the subjective or epistemic use, the modal describes the speaker: how sure the speaker is that something is true, or where the information comes from. Er kann es gesehen haben is not about his ability to see; it means that the speaker thinks it possible that he saw it. English does exactly the same with must , may and might , but German goes further and uses sollen and wollen for hearsay and claims, which English expresses with whole phrases: is said to , claims to . These forms are everywhere in the press, in history and in everyday gossip. The patterns Modal Subjective meaning Present Past (perfect infinitive) müssen certainly, I conclude Er muss reich sein. Er muss reich gewesen sein. dürfte probably Das dürfte genügen. Er dürfte es gewusst haben. werden (+ wohl ) probably, I suppose Er wird wohl kommen. Er wird es vergessen haben. können , könnte possibly; with nicht : impossible Er könnte recht haben. Er kann nicht gelogen haben. mögen may be, I admit Das mag stimmen. Das mag so gewesen sein. sollen is said to (others claim) Er soll reich sein. Homer soll blind gewesen sein. wollen claims to (the subject claims) Er will Arzt sein. Er will nichts gesehen haben. The scale of certainty runs from muss (almost certain) through dürfte and wird wohl (probable) to kann , könnte and mag (possible). dürfte is the subjunctive II of dürfen ; in this sense, probability, it is always used in this form. In a polite request, Dürfte ich Sie etwas fragen? , it keeps the meaning of permission. To talk about the past, keep the modal as it is (present, or subjunctive II for dürfte and könnte ) and put the main verb into the perfect infinitive: participle + haben or sein . Er musste reich sein would mean he had to be rich , an obligation; Er muss reich gewesen sein means he must have been rich , a conclusion. In real sentences müssen : a conclusion from the evidence. German English Er muss reich gewesen sein. [8] He must have been rich. Das muss furchtbar gewesen sein. [9] That must have been terrible. Er muss es gesehen haben. [10] He must have seen it. Ich muss es verloren haben. [11] I must have lost it. können , könnte , dürfte , mögen : possible or probable. German English Er könnte es gesehen haben. [12] He might have seen it. Er kann nicht gelogen haben. [13] He cannot have told a lie. Er könnte recht gehabt haben. [14] He may have been right. Das dürfte genügen. [15] That should do it. Unsere Ausrüstung dürfte bald ankommen. [16] Our equipment should be arriving soon. Das mag stimmen. [17] That may be true. werden for a supposition. German English Er wird wohl kommen. [18] I suppose he'll come. Er wird müde sein. [19] He will be tired. sollen : what people say. German English Er soll reich sein. [20] He is said to be rich. Homer soll blind gewesen sein. [21] It is said that Homer was blind. Romulus soll der erste König der Römer gewesen sein. [22] Romulus is thought to have been the first king of the Romans. Er soll zu der Zeit im Krankenhaus gewesen sein. [23] It's said that he was in hospital at the time. Claims : behaupten , which wollen can replace. Er behauptet, ein Maler zu sein means the same as Er will ein Maler sein . German English Er behauptet, ein Maler zu sein. [24] He claims that he is a painter. Er behauptete, unschuldig zu sein. [25] He claimed that he was innocent. How English does it Same idea, different tools. English modals have the same double life: he must be rich is a conclusion, he must work an obligation. For the past, English uses have + participle after the modal: he must have been rich , he may have seen it , he can't have lied . German does the same with the perfect infinitive: er muss reich gewesen sein , er könnte es gesehen haben , er kann nicht gelogen haben . Note that the German perfect infinitive uses sein with verbs of movement and change, as in the perfect tense: gestorben sein , gekommen sein . soll is not should here. English learners often read Er soll reich sein as he should be rich . In this use it means he is said to be rich , supposedly he is rich , I hear he is rich . Newspapers use it constantly to report unconfirmed information: Der Täter soll geflohen sein , the perpetrator is reported to have fled . will is not will or wants here. Er will nichts gesehen haben means he claims not to have seen anything , with a clear note of doubt. The subject is the source of the claim. English must use claims or says he ; German packs it into one verb. Compare: soll reports what others say about