A1 · Modal verbs
mögen and möchten
Ich mag Kaffee. Ich möchte einen Kaffee.
One verb for liking something, another form of it for wanting something — and they are not interchangeable.
Mögen means to like, and in the present tense it is almost always used with a plain object rather than with another verb: Ich mag Kaffee, Sie mag ihn nicht. This is the form that describes a lasting preference.
Möchten looks like a separate verb and is used as one, but it is historically the subjunctive of mögen. It means "would like" and it is what you say when ordering, asking or stating a wish for right now: Ich möchte einen Kaffee. Every German speaker learns to use möchten before wollen in a shop, because Ich will einen Kaffee is grammatically flawless and sounds like a demand.
The forms are worth setting side by side once: ich mag, du magst, er mag against ich möchte, du möchtest, er möchte. Both keep the modal pattern of no ending in the first and third person singular.
Die Form
| no ending in the first person | ich mag, ich möchte |
| second person | du magst, du möchtest |
| no ending here either | er, sie, es mag / möchte |
| plural and polite form | wir, sie, Sie mögen / möchten |
| past of both | ich mochte, ich wollte |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
mögen with an object states a lasting preference.
Ich mag klassische Musik.I like classical music.
möchten states a wish for now and is the polite way to order or ask.
Ich möchte bitte zahlen.I would like to pay, please.
Like all modals, neither takes an ending in ich and er.
Er mag keine Zwiebeln.He does not like onions.
möchten has no past tense of its own; the past is wollte.
Ich wollte nur fragen.I only wanted to ask.
Genauer hingesehen
When mögen does take a second verb
The pattern Ich mag schwimmen exists and is unusual; German normally says Ich schwimme gern instead, putting the liking into the adverb gern and leaving the verb alone. That is the construction to learn: gern after the verb for liking to do something, lieber for preferring, am liebsten for liking best.
There is one further use, at a much higher level. Mögen with an infinitive can express a concession in formal writing: Das mag stimmen, aber… — "that may be true, but". It is worth recognising and not worth using early.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
the past of möchten is needed
German uses wollte.
Ich wollte gestern anrufen.I wanted to call yesterday.
Möchten is already a subjunctive and has no past of its own; mochte belongs to mögen and means liked.
-
mögen negates a wish politely
the subjunctive is used: ich möchte nicht.
Ich möchte lieber nicht.I would rather not.
Declining with ich will nicht is blunt in the same way as ordering with ich will.
Woran man es erkennt
- mag
- magst
- mögen
- möchte
- möchten
- gern
- lieber
Beispielsätze
Magst du Tee?Do you like tea?
Ich möchte ein Zimmer für zwei Nächte.I would like a room for two nights.
Sie mag es nicht, wenn man zu spät kommt.She does not like it when people are late.
Was möchten Sie trinken?What would you like to drink?
Wir möchten uns beschweren.We would like to make a complaint.
Noch 6 Beispielsätze
Mögen Sie Fisch?Do you like fish?
Ich mochte ihn von Anfang an.I liked him from the start.
Möchtest du noch etwas?Would you like anything else?
Sie möchte Ärztin werden.She would like to become a doctor.
Ich trinke lieber Tee.I prefer tea.
Am liebsten bleibe ich zu Hause.What I like best is staying at home.
Besonderheiten (2)
-
gern is the everyday way to say you like doing something
German puts the liking into an adverb rather than a verb: <z>Ich koche gern</z> is the ordinary way to say "I like cooking". Its comparative <z>lieber</z> and superlative <z>am liebsten</z> then handle preference and favourite without any further machinery.
-
The reply to a request
<z>Gern</z> on its own answers a request and means "of course, happy to". It is one of the most useful single words in spoken German and does not translate as any form of "gladly", which sounds archaic in English.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
Wollen is not impolite in itself, but it states a will rather than a wish, and in a shop or a restaurant that lands as a demand — closer to "I demand a coffee" than to "I want one". The bitte does not rescue it. German makes the politeness in the verb rather than in an added word, which is why möchten is taught in the first week and wollen is not.
mag is a taste, möchte is an order at the counter.
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