Had, had - men's room Hello and welcome to the Lingster Academy! I am your German teacher Julia and in today's video you will learn one of the most important topics in German grammar - and one that most German learners are most afraid of. The subjunctive II Don't worry, after this video you don't need to be afraid anymore, because I'll explain everything you need to know. At the end of the video, I'll also say something about the subjunctive I, so be sure to stay until the end! And get the basics of grammar, because in it you will not only find the rules and exercises on today's topic, but also generally on the most important topics in German grammar. This e-book is of course free of charge for you. You can find the link under the video. Are you ready? Then it starts! The subjunctive II mainly has three tasks in our language, that's why you see and hear it so often and ask yourself: Huh, why is there a subjunctive here now ? It's simple: First of all, we use it when we want to be polite: Sorry, would you have a moment for me? Or: Sorry, would you have a moment for me? Politeness applies not only when we see others, but also among friends or people in general who we use. For suggestions and opinions: You don't know what to do on the weekend? You could call some old friends again. Do you think you will never learn German properly? So if I were you, I would never think that thought again, but always stay positive! Others have made it too, why not you? And last but not least: conditions, desires and things that are not real. My favorite example: are you a millionaire? Probably not, right? Neither do I! But if I were a millionaire, I would definitely not advertise in front of my videos and I would buy my mom a nice convertible. Oh, I could do so much! The verb forms are actually not that difficult, because for the vast majority of verbs you simply use "would + infinitive". But, we use the few verbs that have the correct subjunctive forms very often and these are above all the verbs haben, sein, werden and the modal verbs - these are not even 10 verbs, that is perfectly clear, right ?! There is also good news: there is no subjunctive in all six tenses. There is only the present, i.e. the present tense and a past time. And it gets even better: Even the passive in the subjunctive is a rarity, so you don't need to stress yourself at all. We'll now go through the three ways of using it, look at the shapes and then the video is over again! Here are a few examples of politeness: Would you like a cup of coffee? Yes, I would like a cappuccino. Could you help me Would you pick me up from the airport on Sunday? May I use your cellphone quickly? Would you be so kind as to make me a copy of my testimonial? Attention! You can also be polite without the subjunctive: A cappuccino, please. Can you please help me Will you pick me up from the airport please please please To be polite, a simple request is enough, followed by a thank you and maybe a nice smile. In German we say: The tone makes the music. No matter with or without the subjunctive. Take a look: could you please help me? With such an aggressive tone, of course, the subjunctive does nothing. You get what I mean don't you? But if you really want to learn very good German, then you need different tools with which you can express yourself - because that is the step from the A level to the B level. By the way: We rarely need the past for polite forms, because we mostly want something from someone - now or in the future - we use the present tense for both . You can find the table with the most important verb forms in the 1x1 of the grammar, so you don't have to write anything down. Now let's move on with suggestions and opinions. Here is an example: Person X is 30kg overweight I won't give a name now so that nobody feels addressed here. In any case, the doctor, the family, and the joy of course have a lot of good advice. You should be eating a lot less. Most importantly, you shouldn't eat so much fast food. And you absolutely have to sign up for the gym. Well I (if you were) would skip dinner. The doctor is a little “nicer”: it would be better if you consumed less sugar. Such suggestions are usually formulated with modal verbs, as in sentences 1 to 3. But you can also do without, as in sentences 4 and 5. Here you can also see the typical combination of "would + infinitive" Warning: the form "It would be better" comes from the verb to be. You can also say: it is better if you consume less sugar. In the same way, you can say: you should eat less and you have to go to the gym, but then it's more like prompts and not well-intentioned advice. But here, too, the sound makes the music. This advice relates to the future, what person X can do better to lose weight and live healthier lives. Such recommendations can of course also be made for the past. But they are not particularly helpful, rather rather critical: You should have eaten a lot less. Most importantly, you shouldn't have eaten so much fast food. And you should have signed up for the gym. I (if I were you) would have skipped dinner. It would have been better if you had consumed less sugar. You may notice that the modal verb is in the past in the infinitive and at the end of a sentence. Everything is fine so far? Then let's look at how to use the subjunctive II for conditions, desires, and theories. It is important that you are good at this topic because, unlike the polite form or even advice, it is very difficult to express wishes, conditions, etc. without expressing the subjunctive. Let's look again at the example from the beginning, then you will understand directly what this is about. Do you have a million euros? No? Neither do I. But if I had a million euros, (then) I would buy a house. Maybe I would buy a Porsche too. Oh god, that's so German, isn't it ?! But I could also donate the money and use it to solve real problems. This is a condition - this is also known as a conditional. That is, if A happens, B can happen too. The million euros is the condition that I can spend the money. You are sure to know normal conditional clauses, these are the “if-clauses” in English: When it rains, (then) the road gets wet, doesn't it? When you are hungry, (then) you eat something. What is the difference to the subjunctive here? These situations are real, they are real! It often rains (at least in Germany) and you are probably hungry every day and then you eat something, right? But! The million euros are not real, they are unreal. You can also formulate this as a wish: I would really like to have a million euros! That is why the term “unreal” or “unreal” is used, which is simply the opposite of real or genuine. Here's another example of the unreal: Are you the president of your home country? No? Neither do I. But if I were president, (then) I would change a lot. I would invest more money in digital education if I were president. Every school child would have a computer and would know exactly how to study on the Internet. But I am not a president and so my ideas are not real, they are unreal. They do not correspond to reality. Did you notice that in the third example there is no subjunctive in the subordinate clause “how to learn about the internet” ? That's because it's a reality that you can learn on the internet. You don't need a subjunctive here. In addition, this subordinate clause belongs to “know” and that is in the subjunctive II. And for all grammar freaks: This subordinate clause “how to learn via the Internet” is an accusative object, one asks: What does every schoolchild know exactly? Anyway It is possible and common to formulate conditional clauses with modal verbs: If I were president, (then) I could change a lot. I could invest more money in digital education and every school child should get a computer. You see that one would either be combined with the infinitive or a modal verb. Both are not possible together. Here are other examples of conditional clauses with “would” or modal verbs: If it were warmer outside, I would go to the swimming pool or I could go to the swimming pool. If you were to study more, you wouldn't have to be afraid of your exams. You could have been in the supermarket long ago if you weren't always so slow. And to compare it with the past: If I had become president in the last election , (then) I could have changed a lot. I would have invested or could have invested more in education and every child would have learned how to continue their education with the computer. If it had been warmer yesterday, I would have or could have gone to the swimming pool. If you had studied more, you would not have had / should have had no test anxiety. You could have gone to the supermarket long ago if you weren't always that slow. Attention! Because there is “always” in the subordinate clause, we need a present tense here. The subjunctive is used very often in the past. Why? Because we love to talk about the past and what we would have liked to have done differently or better . The word “yes” is often used for this: I would have bought bitcoins years ago. If only I had been a little harder at school! But none of this is of any use, because life only moves forward! A very brief word on the subjunctive II in subordinate clauses if you use a modal verb and that is a bit blatant, but the structure is always the same: I would have had more free time if I hadn't had to learn so much during my studies. There are now three verbs at the end of a sentence and they are always in the same order: The modal verb at the end, in front the auxiliary verb and in the middle the verb with the actual meaning, ie "learn" and that is in the infinitive. The good news: You rarely read or hear these structures, but for the B level you should at least understand them and, in the best case, be able to use them. By the way: Far too many Germans don't know how to do it properly. But that's more because we didn't really learn it in school. A little candy at the end? You can also find the subjunctive in comparisons. Have you ever looked at the sky, everything was gray and you thought it was about to rain? It looks like it's about to rain. Or: It looks like it's about to rain. It works with people too: you look like you slept badly last night. Or: my work colleague behaves as if he were the boss here. He always pretends he knows everything better. Oh yes, you did it. Was it bad? By the way: The subjunctive I has a completely different function and form and is found much less often. It is used for indirect speech and that is why it is found mainly in the written language, e.g. B. in the newspaper or in the news. You can use it to reflect the statements or opinions of other people. This makes it possible to remain neutral, i.e. the journalist does not show his own opinion. The president said he was planning a tax cut. He added that everyone will be better soon. Maybe the journalist laughs and thinks blah blah, but nobody notices that through the subjunctive I. I'll show you another time. Yes, that's it again for today. If you liked the video and learned something, subscribe to my channel now and follow me on Instagram and TikTok so that you can learn even better German. I'll say goodbye, see you next video! Your Julia