2.24 Konjunktiv II in the past and with modals — Epoché
What you will be able to do Talk about what would have happened but did not: Wenn ich das gewusst hätte, wäre ich früher gekommen. Choose between hätte and wäre in the past subjunctive by the same rule as in the perfect. Say what you could have, should have and would have had to do: Ich hätte helfen können. Ich hätte kommen sollen. Ich hätte es wissen müssen. Put the double infinitive in the right place in a subordinate clause: …, dass ich früh hätte gehen sollen. Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the German aloud; all of them come back below. German English Ein Lastwagen hat mich beinahe überfahren. [1] I was almost run over by a lorry. Du hättest sein Angebot ablehnen sollen. [2] You should have refused his offer. Du hättest das Angebot nicht ablehnen dürfen. [3] You shouldn't have turned that offer down. Sie ist fast von einem Lastwagen überfahren worden. [4] She was very nearly run over by a truck. Wenn er Zeit gehabt hätte, wäre er gegangen. [5] If he had had time, he would have gone. Ich würde dich besucht haben, wenn ich Zeit gehabt hätte. [6] I would've come to see you if I'd had the time. Wenn er mich doch bloß heiraten würde! [7] If only he would marry me. Sagen Sie mir, dass wir nicht versagt haben! [8] Tell me that we haven't failed. Prerequisites : 2.23 — you need the present forms of the Konjunktiv II from 2.23 Grammar , the choice between haben and sein in the perfect from 3.5 Verbs and 3.6 Verbs , and the modal verbs from 3.4 Verbs . The previous lesson dealt with the unreal present: what would be true if things were different now. Much of what we say about the unreal, though, is about the past: regrets, near misses, missed chances, reproaches. English handles this with would have , could have , should have . German has a single pattern for all of it, and it is the perfect tense you already know, with the auxiliary moved into the subjunctive. If you can say ich habe geholfen and ich bin gekommen , you are one small step away from ich hätte geholfen and ich wäre gekommen . The forms The past subjunctive is the perfect with hätte or wäre instead of habe or bin . A verb that takes sein in the perfect takes wäre here, and the rest take hätte . Perfect Past subjunctive English ich habe geholfen ich hätte geholfen I would have helped ich habe es gewusst ich hätte es gewusst I would have known it ich bin gekommen ich wäre gekommen I would have come ich bin geblieben ich wäre geblieben I would have stayed ich bin gestorben ich wäre gestorben I would have died With a modal verb, the past subjunctive uses a double infinitive : the main verb and the modal both stand in the infinitive at the end, and the auxiliary is always hätte . Pattern Example English hätte … können ich hätte helfen können I could have helped hätte … sollen ich hätte kommen sollen I should have come hätte … müssen ich hätte es wissen müssen I should have known (I was bound to know) hätte … dürfen das hätte er nicht sagen dürfen he should not have said that (he had no right to) In a subordinate clause the double infinitive keeps its place at the end, and hätte jumps in front of it instead of going to the very end: …, dass ich früh hätte gehen sollen . This is not special to hätte : whenever a subordinate clause ends in a double infinitive, the finite auxiliary stands in front of it instead of last ( …, dass er hat kommen müssen ). In real sentences The unreal condition in the past. Both halves move into the past subjunctive. German English Wenn ich das gewusst hätte, hätte ich geholfen. [9] If I had known, I would have helped. Wenn ich das gewusst hätte, wäre ich früher gekommen. [10] If I'd known that, I'd have come earlier. Wenn ich das gewusst hätte, wäre ich nicht gekommen. [11] Had I known that, I wouldn't have come. Wäre es nach mir gegangen, dann wäre ich geblieben. [12] Had it been up to me, I’d have stayed. Ohne deine Hilfe hätte ich versagt. [13] Without your help, I would have failed. Near misses. With fast or beinahe , the past subjunctive says that something almost happened. German English Er wäre beinahe gestorben. [14] He almost died. Er hätte beinahe geweint. [15] He almost cried. Fast hätte mich ein Lastwagen überfahren. [16] I almost got run over by a truck. Regret and reproach with the modals. German English Ich hätte helfen können. [17] I could have helped. Ich hätte kommen sollen. [18] I should have come. Ich hätte weglaufen sollen. [19] I should've run away. Das hätte ich wissen müssen. [20] I should've known that. Das hätte mir auffallen müssen. [21] I should've noticed that. Das hättest du bedenken müssen. [22] You should've considered that. Das hättest du mir sagen sollen. [23] You should have told me. The double infinitive in a subordinate clause. Look at the last three words of each sentence. German English Ich weiß, dass ich früh hätte gehen sollen. [24] I know I should have left early. Ich weiß, dass ich das nicht hätte tun sollen. [25] I know that I shouldn't have done that. Es war zu spät, als dass ich noch hätte ablehnen können. [26] It was too late for me to say no. Wishes about the past. German English Wäre ich doch bloß zu Hause geblieben! [27] If only I'd stayed at home! Hätte ich das doch gewusst! [28] I wish I had known. How English does it Same structure, different auxiliary. English builds the unreal past with would have plus the participle: I would have helped . German folds would and have into one word, hätte , and keeps the participle at the end: ich hätte geholfen . In the if-clause, English uses the pluperfect, if I had known , and German uses the same hätte : wenn ich es gewusst hätte . One German form does the work of two English ones. English has only have ; German keeps sein . English says I would have come and I would have stayed . German keeps the choice it makes in the perfect: ich wäre gekommen , ich wäre geblieben . If you know which verbs take sein in the perfect — movement from one place to another, change of state, sein and bleiben — y