Subjective modal verb 'wollen' (claim)

Used subjectively, the modal verb wollen reports the subject's own claim - something the person asserts about themselves, often with an undertone of doubt on the speaker's part. English uses claims to.

It typically combines will/wollen with a past infinitive (Infinitiv Perfekt), because the claim usually concerns something the subject says they did:

• Er will den Täter gesehen haben. - He claims to have seen the culprit.
• Sie will von nichts gewusst haben. - She claims to have known nothing.
• Sie wollen das Geld zurückgegeben haben. - They claim to have returned the money.

The key difference from subjective sollen: with wollen the claim comes from the subject themselves, whereas with sollen it comes from unnamed others.

Common mistakes:

• Reading will as the volitional wollen (to want): Er will den Täter sehen = he wants to see the culprit; Er will den Täter gesehen haben = he claims to have seen him.
• Forgetting the past infinitive (gesehen haben), which is what gives the claim its retrospective sense.
• Using soll where the subject asserts it themselves - that would shift the source to other people.

Subjective 'wollen' reports someone's own (doubtful) claim (claims to).

Subjective use: reports the subject's own claim (often doubted).

Subjektives 'wollen' gibt eine eigene (oft zweifelhafte) Behauptung wieder.