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Können
-‘to be able to’ or ‘to can’
The verb können is the verb that we use when we ‘can’ or ‘are able to’ do something. We can occasionally translate it as ‘know’ when we know how to do something.
(But not when you know a fact or when you know a person. Those are two other verbs!)
For example, the phrase Ich kann Deutsch can be translated as “I can speak German” and “I am able to speak German” and “I know German.”
In the tables below, we will use ‘able to’ as the English translation, to best help emphasise the differences. But all of the above are correct.
Present Tense (Präsenz)
* This Sie (meaning formal ‘you’) always needs a capital letter. Remember that you are being formal and polite, so you’re going to be respectful and use a capital like you would with their name. The other versions of ‘sie’ only need capitals at the beginning of sentences.
Pronunciation of ö
The letter ‘o with an umlaut’ (two little dots above it) is pronounced like the ‘er’ in ‘her’ or the ‘ur’ in ‘burn’ but with the ‘r’ glossed over rather than emphasised.
Short examples
Ich kann Deutsch.
I know German.
Du kannst mich Morgen dort antreffen.
You can meet me there tomorrow.
Er kann Spanisch.
He can speak Spanish.
Sie kann keine Kritik vertragen.
She can not take criticism.
Es kann nicht sein.
It can not be.
Wir können das nicht zulassen.
We can not let that happen.
Ihr könnt gespannt sein.
You can be curious.
Sie können faul sein.
They can be lazy.
Sie können froh sein.
You can be happy.
Dialogue
Bert:
Hallo, Lena! Kannst du Deutsch?
Hi Lena. Can you speak German?
Lena:
Nur ein bisschen. Ich kann Japanisch.
Only a little. I can speak Japanese.
Bert:
Prima!
Great!
Imperfect Tense (Imperfekt)
Ich konnte Deutsch.
I used to know German.
Du konntest mich Morgen dort antreffen.
You used to be able to meet me there tomorrow.
Er konnte Spanisch.
He used to speak Spanish.
Sie konnte keine Kritik vertragen.
She used to not be able to take criticism.
Perfect Tense (Perfekt)
All these conjugations are the present tense of ‘haben’ with the past participle ‘gekonnt’ (which stays the same for every person.) That makes this quite easy to remember.
Short examples
Ich habe Deutsch gekonnt.
I was able to speak German.
Du hast mich dort antreffen gekonnt.
You were able to meet me there.
Er hat Japanisch gekonnt.
He was able speak Japanese.
Sie hat keine Kritik vertragen gekonnt.
She was not able to take criticism.
In these examples, we have separated the ‘habe gekonnt’ and put the adjective/noun/verb phrase in the middle. This is because a German past participle always comes at the end of the clause.
Pluperfect Tense (Plusquamperfekt)
All these conjugations use the imperfect tense of ‘haben’ and the past participle ‘gekonnt’ (which stays the same for every person.)
Short examples
Ich hatte Deutsch gekonnt.
I had been able to speak German.
Du hattest mich dort antreffen gekonnt.
You had been able to meet me there.
Er hatte Spanisch gekonnt.
He had been able to speak Spanish.
Sie hatte keine Kritik vertragen gekonnt.
She had not been able to take criticism.
Future Tense (Futur)
Short examples
Ihr werdet Deutsch können.
You will be able to speak German.
Sie werden mich dort antreffen können.
They will be able to meet me there.
Sie werden Japanisch können.
You will be able to speak Japanese.
Future Perfect Tense (Futur II)
As with the English future perfect, the German ‘Futur II’ combines the forms we’ve looked at so far. This makes it one of the easiest tenses to remember, because we’ve already learned the different parts.
We use the future perfect to describe an action that will have been completed some time in the future. German always uses a time expression when using the future tense in this way.
Short examples
Sie wird Deutsch gekonnt haben.
She will have been able to speak German.
Es wird mich dort antreffen gekonnt haben.
You will have been able to meet me there.
Er wird Spanisch gekonnt haben.
He will have been able to speak Spanish.
And there are all six conjugations of the verb kӧnnen that we need to successfully talk about what we can (or could, or will have been able to…) do.
Darren has been a language teacher for sixteen years, and has taught all ages from pre-school to adults. He has been a German speaker since he was 12 years old.
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