Modal verb 'wollen' (to want)
Modalverb 'wollen'
'wollen' (to want) expresses a wish or intention.
Structure
wollen (Position 2) + … + Infinitiv (Satzende)
wollen (position 2) + … + infinitive (end of the clause)
Details
- Part of Speech
- Verb
- Word Type
- Modal verb
- Register
- Standard
Explanation
Meaning. wollen means to want. It expresses a wish or an intention: Ich will einen Kaffee trinken - I want to drink a coffee.
Conjugation (irregular singular).
- ich will
- du willst
- er/sie/es will
- wir wollen
- ihr wollt
- sie/Sie wollen
Note the vowel change o → i in the and the identical ich-/er-forms (will).
Word order - the bracket. wollen sits in position 2; the infinitive goes to the end:
- Ich will einen Kaffee trinken. - I want to drink a coffee.
- Wir wollen einen Film sehen. - We want to watch a film.
- Was willst du machen? - What do you want to do?
Common mistakes. wollen is fairly direct; for polite wishes use möchten (would like) instead - Ich möchte einen Kaffee is more polite than Ich will einen Kaffee. Beware the "false friend": German will means "want", not the English future "will". Keep the second as an at the end.
About Modal verb 'wollen' (to want)
'wollen' (to want) expresses a wish or intention.
forms: ich will, du willst, er will. The goes to the end of the sentence.
'wollen' drückt einen Wunsch oder eine Absicht aus.
Caution
Irregular in the singular: ich will, du willst, er/sie/es will. 'möchten' is its polite form.