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.
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
6 exercises: multiple choice, typing, matching pairs and word order.