Modal verbs and the verb-bracket
Modal verbs let you say what you can, must, or want to do. German has six of them — this lesson covers the three most common: können (can), müssen (must / have to), wollen (want to). Two things make modals special. (1) They have a vowel change in the singular: ich kann, not 'ich könne'. (2) When you add a second verb, the modal sits in slot 2 and the second verb — always an infinitive — flies to the very end of the sentence. Ich kann gut Deutsch sprechen. = 'I can speak German well.'
können — to be able / can
Singular has the vowel a, plural goes back to ö. ich kann, du kannst, er kann, wir können, ihr könnt, sie können. Note the er form ends in nothing — no -t. That's a quirk shared by all modals: ich and er look identical. Ich kann schwimmen. = 'I can swim.' Kannst du Deutsch? = 'Can you (speak) German?' (You can drop the infinitive sprechen when context is obvious.)
müssen — to have to / must
Same singular pattern, vowel u in singular and umlaut ü in plural. ich muss, du musst, er muss, wir müssen, ihr müsst, sie müssen. Ich muss arbeiten. = 'I have to work.' Watch the negative trap: ich muss nicht = 'I don't have to' (NOT 'I must not'). German says 'must not' with dürfen (a different modal you'll meet later).
wollen — to want to
Singular vowel i, plural o. ich will, du willst, er will, wir wollen, ihr wollt, sie wollen. False friend warning: ich will does NOT mean 'I will' (future tense) — it means 'I want to'. Ich will nach Hause. = 'I want to go home.' (German often drops the verb of motion after wollen when direction is clear.) For the polite 'I'd like', use ich möchte — same family but softer. We'll come back to möchten next batch.
Word order: the verb-bracket
When a modal pairs with another verb, German builds a bracket around the rest of the sentence: modal in slot 2, infinitive at the very end. Ich | kann | gut Deutsch | sprechen. Whatever you stuff between the two verbs — adverbs, objects, places — it all sits inside the bracket. Tom muss heute viele Bücher lesen. = 'Tom has to read many books today.' Anna will am Freitag nach München fahren. = 'Anna wants to go to Munich on Friday.' If you flip the order to start with heute or am Freitag, the modal still goes in slot 2 and the infinitive still goes to the end: Heute muss Tom viele Bücher lesen.
Yes/no and W-questions with modals
Same pattern, just move the modal to slot 1 (yes/no) or slot 2 (after a question word). Kannst du schwimmen? = 'Can you swim?' Wann musst du arbeiten? = 'When do you have to work?' Was willst du machen? = 'What do you want to do?' The infinitive still parks at the end.
