9.12 The conditional of "sein" and "haben"
The "conditional subjunctive" mood is used to express what might happen if something else occurred and is normally formed in English with "would" - e.g. "I would go if..." etc. The present-time conditional subjunctive is also used in German to make very polite requests. We have already seen in Chapter 8 how the conditional of some modal verbs is used in this way.
The present-time conditional subjunctive of the verbs "haben" and "sein" can be translated into English as "would have" and "would be":
Grammar 18: Conditional of the verb "haben" (= to be) |
Singular |
|
|
ich hätte |
I would have |
|
du hättest
Sie hätten |
You would have (informal/formal) |
|
er/sie/es hätte |
He/she/it would have |
Plural |
|
|
wir hätten |
We would have |
|
ihr hättet
Sie hätten |
You would have (informal/formal) |
|
sie hätten |
They would have |
|
We have already seen several usages of the conditional form of "haben". It also tends to have the sense of a polite request:
Grammar 20: Conditional sentences with "haben" |
|
Was hätten Sie gern?
("What would you like?") |
|
Ich hätte gerne ein Bier.
("I would like a beer.") |
|
Hätten Sie es gern selbst?
("Would you be buying it for yourself?") |
|
Ich hätte gern Frau Arndt gesprochen.
("I would like to speak to Ms. Arndt.") |
|
Occasionally the distinction between the normal present tense and the conditional is a very small one. The following two sentences mean much the same thing - the first is more direct, the second slightly more tentative:
- Hast du Lust, morgen früh einen Einkaufsbummel zu machen?
(Are you interested in going on a shopping spree tomorrow morning?)
- Hättest du Lust, morgen früh einen Einkaufsbummel zu machen?
(Would you be interested in going on a shopping spree tomorrow morning?)
Conditional usage of "sein"
Grammar 19: Conditional of the verb "sein" (= to be) |
Singular |
|
|
ich wäre |
I would be |
|
du wär(e)st
Sie wären |
You would be (informal/formal) |
|
er/sie/es wäre |
He/she/it would be |
Plural |
|
|
wir wären |
We would be |
|
ihr wärt
Sie wären |
You would be (informal/formal) |
|
sie wären |
They would be |
|
In this chapter we have met some conditional usages of the verb "sein". Sentences containing such forms tend to be hypothetical in meaning:
Grammar 21: Conditional sentences with "sein" |
|
Das wäre seht nett.
("That would be very nice.") |
|
Wie wäre es mit einer CD?
("How about a CD?") |
|
Wie wäre es mit übermorgen?
("How about the day after tomorrow?") |
|
Chapter 9.13: New irregular verbs
Nach oben
Print This Page
|