Konjunktiv is a mood, not a tense — it does not change when something happens, it changes the speaker's stance toward what they are saying. Konjunktiv II signals that something is hypothetical, unreal, or wished-for. Konjunktiv I signals that you are reporting what someone else said, not your own view.
Werden is the single most important verb to recognise across German grammar because it plays three completely different roles depending on the construction. In Futur I it is the future auxiliary. In Passive it builds the action. In Konjunktiv II it becomes würde — the backbone of the hypothetical. The same verb, three jobs. Recognising it in each role unlocks the whole system at a glance.
| Futur I · wird + Infinitiv | Ich werde das lernen. | I will learn that. |
| Passive · wird + Partizip II | Das wird gemacht. | That is being done. |
| Konjunktiv II · würde + Infinitiv | Ich würde das lernen. | I would learn that. |
| Konj. II Perfekt · hätte + Part. II | Ich hätte das gelernt. | I would have learned that. |
| Konj. II Perfekt · wäre + Part. II | Ich wäre gegangen. | I would have gone. |
Every Konjunktiv II construction uses one of three auxiliaries. They all come from verbs you already know: werden, haben, sein. Learning which verb class takes which auxiliary is the key to building any hypothetical sentence.
| werden → würde (unreal present, all verbs) | Ich würde gern kommen. | I would like to come. |
| haben → hätte (unreal past, haben-verbs) | Ich hätte das gewusst. | I would have known that. |
| sein → wäre (unreal past, sein-verbs) | Ich wäre früher gegangen. | I would have left earlier. |
Konjunktiv II has two forms. The würde-form (würde + Infinitiv) is preferred in spoken German and works for all regular verbs. A small set of high-frequency verbs have their own strong stem forms that are always preferred over würde + their infinitive — because the würde-forms would sound awkward or ambiguous.
| sein → wäre | Das wäre schön. | That would be nice. |
| haben → hätte | Ich hätte gern mehr Zeit. | I would like more time. |
| werden → würde | Ich würde gern kommen. | I would like to come. |
| können → könnte | Könntest du mir helfen? | Could you help me? |
| müssen → müsste | Du müsstest das wissen. | You should know that. |
| dürfen → dürfte | Das dürfte schwierig sein. | That is likely to be difficult. |
| wollen → wollte | Ich wollte das nicht sagen. | I didn't mean to say that. |
Condition clause: Konjunktiv II strong form — hätte (not würde haben).
Result clause: würde + Infinitiv.
To talk about something hypothetical in the past — what would have happened if things had been different — combine hätte or wäre (Konjunktiv II) with the Partizip II of the main verb. This is the "third conditional" of German.
| haben verbs | Ich hätte mehr gelernt. | I would have studied more. |
| sein verbs | Er wäre früher gekommen. | He would have come earlier. |
| modal | Du hättest fragen können. | You could have asked. |
Past condition: hätte/wäre + Partizip II.
Past result: wäre/hätte + Partizip II at the end.
Konjunktiv I is built from the infinitive stem + a set of endings. It is the mood of journalism, official reporting, and formal indirect speech. Using it signals that the speaker is transmitting someone else's words — not personally endorsing them. Where Konjunktiv I forms overlap with Präsens (especially wir, sie/Sie), Konjunktiv II or the würde-form is used instead to keep the indirect-speech signal clear.
| sein (most common) | Er sagte, er sei krank. | He said he was sick. |
| haben | Sie sagte, sie habe keine Zeit. | She said she had no time. |
| regular verb | Er erklärte, er lerne täglich. | He explained he studies daily. |
| modal verb | Sie berichtete, er müsse warten. | She reported he had to wait. |
Konjunktiv I sei — distinct from Präsens ist, so clearly marked as indirect.