{"id":9753,"date":"2018-07-05T08:00:03","date_gmt":"2018-07-05T08:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=9753"},"modified":"2018-07-06T07:39:04","modified_gmt":"2018-07-06T07:39:04","slug":"the-german-subjunctive-konjunktiv-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-german-subjunctive-konjunktiv-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"The German Subjunctive – Konjunktiv II"},"content":{"rendered":"

On this blog, we have explained before how to use tenses in German<\/a>. But we have not yet looked at a rather peculiar tense in German yet: the\u00a0Konjunktiv\u00a0<\/em>(subjunctive mood)! It comes in two parts,\u00a0Konjunktiv I\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Konjunktiv II<\/em>. Today, we look at number\u00a0II<\/em>! I will tell you what it is, how to use it and in which cases. Let’s go!<\/p>\n

Click here for\u00a0Konjunktiv I<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Answers from the\u00a0Konjunktiv I\u00a0<\/em>test:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Fact<\/li>\n
  2. Fact<\/li>\n
  3. Claim<\/li>\n
  4. Claim<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What is the\u00a0Konjunktiv II<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \"\"

    Sie steht (she stands)<\/p><\/div>\n

    Just like in the previous post, we will use the word\u00a0stehen\u00a0<\/em>to explore the second\u00a0Konjunktiv<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    The\u00a0Konjunktiv\u00a0<\/em>is a word that comes from the latin\u00a0coniungere<\/em>, which means “to connect”, as it connects sentences together.<\/p>\n

    We will use the verb\u00a0stehen\u00a0<\/em>(to stand) as our example here. The regular, present tense looks like this:<\/p>\n

    ich stehe\u00a0<\/em>(I stand)<\/p>\n

    du stehst\u00a0<\/em>(you stand, sing.)<\/p>\n

    er\/sie\/es steht\u00a0<\/em>(he\/she\/it stands)<\/p>\n

    ihr steht\u00a0<\/em>(you stand, pl.)<\/p>\n

    wir stehen\u00a0<\/em>(we stand)<\/p>\n

    sie stehen\u00a0<\/em>(they stand)<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    When converting that to a\u00a0Konjunktiv II<\/em>, something interesting happens:<\/p>\n

    ich st\u00fcnde\/st\u00e4nde\u00a0<\/em>(I would stand)<\/p>\n

    du st\u00fcndest\/st\u00e4ndest\u00a0<\/em>(you would stand, sing.)<\/p>\n

    er\/sie\/es st\u00fcnde\/st\u00e4nde<\/em>\u00a0(he\/she\/it would stand)<\/p>\n

    wir\u00a0st\u00e4nden\/st\u00fcnden\u00a0<\/em>(we would stand)<\/p>\n

    ihr st\u00e4ndet\u00a0<\/em>(you would stand, pl.)<\/p>\n

    sie st\u00e4nden\/st\u00fcnden\u00a0<\/em>(they would stand)<\/p>\n

    Great, but when do we use it?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \"\"

    Image by Fauzan Saari at Unsplash.com<\/p><\/div>\n

    Always if you wish for something or you are imagining something – it displays the unreal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Let’s look at some examples:<\/p>\n

    Ich w\u00fcnschte, die deutsche Nationalelf h\u00e4tte im Spiel gegen S\u00fcdkorea gewonnen.<\/em><\/p>\n

    (I wished that the German national team would have won in the game against South Korea.)<\/p>\n

    W\u00e4re ich Bundestrainer, w\u00fcrde ich andere Spieler aufstellen.<\/em><\/p>\n

    (If I were national coach, I would put in different players.)<\/p>\n

    H\u00e4tte die deutsche Mannschaft gewonnen, w\u00e4re Deutschland jetzt noch in der Weltmeisterschaft.<\/em><\/p>\n

    (If the German team had won, Germany would still be in the World Cup now.)<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Also, you use it to be\u00a0h\u00f6flich\u00a0<\/em>(polite) or\u00a0nett\u00a0<\/em>(nice).<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Instead of<\/p>\n

    Kannst du mir bitte die Teller reichen\u00a0<\/em>(Can you please give me the plates)?<\/p>\n

    You say:<\/p>\n

    K\u00f6nntest du mir die Teller reichen\u00a0<\/em>(Could you please give me the plates)?<\/p>\n

    The same is with the versatile verb\u00a0werden<\/em>. Anytime that you want say “would you please…”, you can say “w\u00fcrdest du bitte…<\/em>“. An example:<\/p>\n

    W\u00fcrdest du mir bitte die Flasche Sprudelwasser geben<\/em>?<\/p>\n

    (Would you please give me the bottle of sparkling water?)<\/p>\n

    A common\u00a0Ausdruck\u00a0<\/em>(expression) is also:\u00a0W\u00e4rst du\/W\u00e4ren Sie so nett<\/em>… (Would you be so nice…) before a sentence with a\u00a0Konjunktiv<\/em>:<\/p>\n

    W\u00e4ren Sie so nett, k\u00f6nnten sie mir bitte zeigen, wo die Toilette ist?\u00a0<\/em>(Would you be so nice, could you show me where the bathroom is?)<\/p>\n

    The same goes with the\u00a0Konjunktiv\u00a0<\/em>of\u00a0haben<\/em>:<\/p>\n

    H\u00e4ttest du Lust, zur Weltmeisterschaft zu fahren<\/em>?<\/p>\n

    Would you like to go to the World Cup?<\/p>\n

    H\u00e4tten Sie Zeit f\u00fcr einen kurzen Anruf?<\/em><\/p>\n

    Would you have time for a short call?<\/p>\n

    Old German<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Now, instead of using\u00a0the\u00a0Konjunktiv\u00a0<\/em>of the verbs\u00a0haben (h\u00e4tte…), werden (w\u00fcrde…)\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0sein (w\u00e4re…)<\/em>, you can also use the\u00a0Konjunktiv\u00a0<\/em>of the word itself:<\/p>\n

    St\u00e4nde sie im Feld, h\u00e4tten die Frauen eine Chance auf einen Sieg gehabt.<\/em><\/p>\n

    (If she stood in the field, the women would have had a chance of a victory.)<\/p>\n

    L\u00e4ge er nicht in der Sonne, h\u00e4tte er sich nicht verbrannt.<\/em><\/p>\n

    (Had he not lied in the sun, he would not have burned himself.)<\/p>\n

    However, nobody uses these\u00a0Konjunktiv\u00a0<\/em>forms anymore, because it is just easier to say:<\/span><\/p>\n

    H\u00e4tte sie im Feld gestanden, h\u00e4tten die Frauen eine Chance auf einen Sieg gehabt.<\/em><\/p>\n

    H\u00e4tte er nicht in der Sonne gelegen, h\u00e4tte er sich nicht verbrannt.<\/em><\/p>\n

    And that is what we do:\u00a0Konjunktiv II\u00a0<\/em>+\u00a0past perfect of a word. That also makes it a Konjunktiv II<\/em>!<\/p>\n

    Below is a video that also explains all of this quite nicely:<\/p>\n