German Language Game: Modal Verb "können"



Quick German Language Game: können - can, to be able.

Level: Elementary (A2)
Playing Time: 5 minutes
(The picture: Können Sie Taekwondo?)


A fun interactive language game to learn and practice the present, past, and conditional forms of "können" (can /to be able)
Present Tense: stem vowel changes: singular = "a"; plural = "ö" (including the formal "Sie")
Simple Past: stem vowel is "o"; add regular endings -te, -test, -te, -ten, -tet, -ten
Conditional: stem vowel is "ö"; otherwise, all forms are the same as Simple Past.
With this game, you'll practice how to pronounce German "a", "o", and "ö".

Können - Present Tense

Note the change in the stem vowel: singular "a", plural "ö"

ich kann - I can
du kannst - you can
er/sie/es kann - he/she/it can
wir können - we can
ihr könnt - you-all can
sie/Sie können - they/you(form.) can

Simple Past Tense of "können": drop the umlaut

ich konnte - I could
du konntest - you could
er/sie/es konnte - he/she/it could
wir konnten - we could
ihr konntet - you-all could
sie/Sie konnten - they/you (form.) could

Conditional Tense of "können": add umlaut to Past

ich könnte - I would be able /could
du könntest - you would be able /could
er/sie/es könnte - he/she/it would be able /could
wir könnten - we would be able /could
ihr könntet - you-all would be able /could
sie/Sie könnten - they/you(form.) would be able /could

Short Sentences:

Er kann nicht. - He can't.
Kann ich? - Can I?
Ja, du kannst. - Yes, you can. (fam.)
Ich konnte gestern nicht anrufen. - I couldn't call yesterday.
Ich kann heute kommen. - I can come today.
Ich könnte dich morgen treffen. - I could meet you tomorrow.

You'll find more in our post: How to Use the German Modal Verb "Können"

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More Than a German Language Game

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Posted 16:08PM on March 19 2020 by Ulrike Rettig
Categories: German | Tags: German, German modal verb, Können, Practice können