GrammarB2· Wünsche & Bedauern

Konjunktiv II der Vergangenheit

The past subjunctive

Kartoffel · your teacher

Hi! Let's look at this one together — step by step, no rush.

From what you know

Ich habe nicht angerufen.Ich hätte anrufen sollen.

6 parts · about 6 min

1What & when

In one line

For a past that didn't happen, change the 's helper: habebecomeshätte, binbecomeswäre.

Before

Ich habe das Angebot angenommen.

Watch the sentence change …

The 's habe becomes hätte. It didn't happen, but it could have.

„An deiner Stelle hätte ich das Angebot angenommen.“ — If I were you, I'd have accepted the offer.

Kartoffel

First, what is it?

The der Vergangenheit (past subjunctive) is for a past that didn't happen. It says what you should have done, or what would have happened if things had gone differently. You know the Konjunktiv II for now: This is the same idea in the past:

Kartoffel

And when do you need it? More often than you'd think:

Wünsche & BedauernYou need it when you look back at a missed chance. You regret a decision: You imagine another outcome: You comfort a friend: Or you say that someone acts against the facts:

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