A Foundation Course in Reading German, 2017a

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12/8/2017
Unit: 10: Modal verbs
3. Modal Verb Usages
a. mögen can also be translated as “to like” instead of “to like to”: Das Kind mag
Eis (The child likes ice cream).
In addition mag can mean “may” suggesting possibility: Das mag wahr sein.
(That may be true.)
b. können can also be translated as “to know” in the sense of skills, e.g. Sie kann
Deutsch. (She knows German). See also note f) below, which explains how this
works.
c. sollen is often used to distance the speaker from someone else’s claim, like
English "is said to," "is supposedly," or "allegedly":
Dieses Buch soll interessant sein.
This book is said to be interesting. [or:] This book is supposedly
interesting.
And as demonstrated further in section g) below, you will often encounter
present-tense usages of sollen with this special meaning which refer to a past
event:
Sie soll auch einen dritten Brief geschrieben haben.
She allegedly wrote a third letter, too.
d. wollen has two other common usages. As you will be able to tell from context,
it can mean "to claim to" rather than "to want to":
Der Professor will diese Tatsache entdeckt haben.
The professor claims to have discovered this fact.
wollen can also be used like a regular, non-modal verb (even taking a direct
object), like English "to want a thing":
Er will das Buch.
He wants the book.