Can, must, want Kënnen, mussen, wëllen
The modal verbs let you ask for help, make polite requests and say what you must or want to do.
By the end of this lesson you can
- Say what you can, must and want to do.
- Ask permission and make polite requests: Däerf ech …?, Kanns du mir hëllefen?
- Say what you cannot do, and say maybe, certainly or unfortunately.
15 words and phrases
- kënnen
- can / to be able to
- mussen
- must / to have to
- wëllen
- to want
- däerfen
- may / to be allowed to
- sollen
- should
- Ech kann schwammen.
- I can swim.
- Ech muss schaffen.
- I have to work.
- Ech wëll Lëtzebuergesch léieren.
- I want to learn Luxembourgish.
- Däerf ech?
- May I?
- Kanns du mir hëllefen?
- Can you help me?
- Ech kann net kommen.
- I can't come.
- Ech wéilt gär …
- I would like … (polite)
- vläicht
- maybe
- sécher
- sure / certainly
- leider
- unfortunately
Grammar
Forms of the modal verbs
kënnen: ech kann, du kanns, hien kann, mir kënnen, dir kënnt, si kënnen.
mussen: ech muss, du muss, hien muss, mir mussen, dir musst, si mussen.
wëllen: ech wëll, du wëlls, hien wëll, mir wëllen, dir wëllt, si wëllen.
däerfen: ech däerf, du däerfs, hien däerf, mir däerfen, dir däerft, si däerfen.
The second verb stays in the infinitive and goes to the end: Ech kann haut net kommen.
Practice
14 exercises: multiple choice, typing, matching pairs and word order.