31
votes
Accepted
What is the exact meaning of “ich wäre gern”?
The gern is very important.
Ich bin stark, aber ich wäre gern stärker
I am strong but I would like to be stronger.
Without the gern, the sentence translates to your second example
Ich bin ...
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17
votes
Accepted
Konjuntiv II vom Verb sterben: »ich stärbe« vs. »ich stürbe«
Ursprünglicher Präteritumstamm mit u
Die Formen stürbe/hülfe widersprechen nur scheinbar der Regel, dass der Konjunktiv präteritum sich aus der umgelauteten Präteritumform bildet. Die älteren ...
- 7,275
16
votes
Why is "hätte" used in this sentence?
The problem of this sentence is that, although the structure is the same for all enumerated subordinate clauses, all three moods (Indikativ, Konjunktiv I, and Konjunktiv II) are lumped together:
...
- 22.9k
14
votes
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Verwendung von Konjunktiv II in Wikipediaartikel
Weil es sich um indirekte Rede handelt, die der Wikipedia-Autor sich nicht zu eigen macht.
Bei vielen Verbformen ist der Konjunktiv I nicht vom Indikativ unterscheidbar, so auch bei haben. Dann wird ...
- 64.6k
12
votes
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What is the literal meaning of “Gott sei Dank”?
Yes, you're right.
"Gott sei Dank"
literally translated
"To God be the thanks"
is a common phrase to express joy when something good has happened.
It may have derived from the ...
- 400
12
votes
Why is "hätte" used in this sentence?
The author is changing from indicative to subjunctive mood (Konjunktiv) here in the middle of quoting Charly in indirect speech. Both "hatte" and "hätte" are possible, "hätte&...
- 394
11
votes
The use of konnte
The writer describes the general conditions that make language learning easy for them. This statement is valid at the time of the text, so it uses present tense, Präsens.
Then they give an example ...
- 24.2k
11
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What is the exact meaning of “ich wäre gern”?
The first version is correct.
I am strong but I (gladly) would like to be stronger.
or
I am strong but I wish I could be stronger
The same prase without "gern" has a different meaning and ...
- 4,668
9
votes
Why is this verb written as "zeige" rather than "zeigt"? Konjunktiv I maybe?
That sentence contains indirekte Rede (engl.: reported speech). That requires to use the Konjunktiv I. And the "sie" refers to "Situation der Flüchtlinge".
You will encounter such forms quite often ...
- 545
9
votes
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Wäre at the beginning of an article title
Das Verb wäre ist genau der Konjunktiv II von sein.
Indikativ: Ich bin in Wien.
Konjunktiv I: Egon sagt, ich sei in Wien.
Konjunktiv II: Ach, wäre ich doch in Wien.
Die Überschrift bedeutet, ...
- 126k
9
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What is the literal meaning of “Gott sei Dank”?
You're right, it means "thank God". It appears to be a jussive subjunctive (Konjunktiv I). I wager that the original structure was "Gott sei Dank gegeben" - "Gratitude be ...
- 469
9
votes
Accepted
Konjunktiv-II fill in the blank exercise: würden vs wären
It depends on the exercise, and the intended meaning. Verlaufen can both be an infinitive (as in soll or wird verlaufen) and a past participle (as in ist verlaufen). Looking at the other verbs in the ...
- 27.3k
8
votes
Why is Konjunktiv used in this sentence?
Konjunktiv 2 indicates irrealis. As the word ›Ammenmärchen‹ already tells you, the following subordinate clause contains information which is considered untrue by the author.
Another example:
...
- 261
8
votes
Accepted
Why Konjunktiv II "würden" is used instead of Passive "worden"?
This isn't plain passive but indirect speech. Your examples just lack the introduction who is cited.
[Die Polizei sagte,] der geräumte Bahnhof werde durchsucht.
[Die Polizei sagte,] auch umliegende ...
- 64.6k
8
votes
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Why “würde” and not “werde”?
You can't just take some sentence out of context and translate it literally. The English subjunctive and the German Konjunktiv are used differently, and you need the context to decide how something ...
- 7,026
8
votes
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Konjunktiv I bei Diagrammbeschreibung?
Der Konjunktiv 1 wird verwendet, um Aussagen als innerlich abhängig darzustellen. Dies ist am häufigsten — aber nicht ausschließlich — bei der indirekten Rede der Fall, wo Verben wie sagen, fragen, ...
- 22.9k
8
votes
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Should one use Konjunktiv in subordinate clause using “dass” and should one use an explicit "es" in the main clause with "dass"?
The "es" is optional in your example, you can leave it out. And no, you don't need Konjunktiv, you just take indicative mood for that.
It used to be possible to alternatively use Konjunktiv 1 for "...
- 2,685
8
votes
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Using the konjunktiv II to express uncertainty
The subjunctive does not express or accompany uncertainty
This is a common myth is perpetuated by teachers, grammar books, etc. calling the subjunctive Möglichkeitsform or similar. I will try to ...
- 22k
8
votes
Accepted
How common is Imperfect Subjunctive in modern German?
It's commonly called Konjunktiv II. Another name is Konjunktiv Präteritum but forget about that one as it's confusing. Imperfect Subjunctive is technically the same but an even more confusing name ...
- 64.6k
8
votes
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What's the difference "Ich käme" and "Ich würde kommen"?
From a pure viewpoint of notion, they are exactly the same.
From a viewpoint of register, Konjunktiv occupies the higher position.
From a viewpoint of day-to-day use, most native speakers tend to use ...
- 66.4k
7
votes
Accepted
Subjunctive I VS Subjunctive II in reported speech (aus der Nähe betrachtet)
In the quote, "aus der Nähe betrachtet" is a participle clause. I.e. betrachtet isn't the indicative of betrachten, but the perfect participle. The clause is used as an adverb to sehen in ...
- 19k
7
votes
Accepted
»Dass es gelingen würde, in Deutschland konkurrenzfähige Textilien herzustellen, haben ihr nicht viele zugetraut – das sei hier einfach zu teuer«
Dass es gelingen würde, in Deutschland konkurrenzfähige Textilien herzustellen, haben ihr nicht viele zugetraut
"Dass es gelingen würde, in Deutschland konkurrenzfähige Textilien herzustellen" is the ...
- 16.4k
7
votes
Konjunktiv II von „gebären“
Der Gedanke geht etwas zu weit. Grundsätzlich ist es so, dass der Konjunktiv II anhand des Präteritalstamms gebildet wird, wobei bei starken Verben nach Möglichkeit der Umlaut des Präteritalstamms ...
- 7,758
7
votes
Accepted
“Du bist ein Student? Das hätte ich nicht gedacht” – why subjunctive?
Strictly speaking your book is right about it expressing a hypothesis. What you should notice is that just as in English, the conditional is often implied or even unclear. In this way the subjunctive ...
- 6,812
7
votes
Accepted
Warum wird Konjunktiv 1 hier benützt?
Das tut er, weil er hier von einer Annahme spricht. Hier derselbe Satz mit weniger Ballast:
Es scheint mir, daß die Beobachtungen verständlich erscheinen unter der Annahme, daß die Energie ...
- 126k
7
votes
The use of konnte
At first, the writer explains his/her methodology for language learning.
From the 5th sentence on, the writer says that these general conditions helped him/her to learn Swedish ("That's how I learned ...
- 143
7
votes
Accepted
"Zaubern mögen sie, soviel sie wollen"
Ah, Wiktionary, if only you were as accurate as you are confident when you say expresses a possibility, never a permission. DWDS says (and that entry is derived from WDG, a proper dictionary):
3. in ...
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7
votes
Accepted
Why use subjunctive here?
Subjunctive mood (as it exists in English) and and conjunctive mood (as it exists in two variations in German) are similar, but not identical. So, I prefer to call it conjunctive mood.
What is used in ...
- 126k
7
votes
What's the difference between "hätten" und "wären" in konjunktiv II?
In short:
"hätten" = Konjunktiv von "haben" = "to have" in english
"wären" = Konjunktiv von "sein" = "to be" in english
To your examples:
...
- 306
7
votes
Am I to understand that
Am I to understand that...
Your translations are very literal. How about:
Bedeutet das, dass...
Verstehe ich es richtig, dass...
You cannot always translate something with every word matching and ...
- 662
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