Dutch modal verbs: kunnen, moeten, mogen, willen and zullen

Can I, must you, may we, do they want to? Modal verbs are the little helpers you need for almost every real-life request, offer and plan. Dutch has the same basic set as English — kunnen, moeten, mogen, willen, zullen — plus one extra, hoeven. They are irregular, but there are only a handful, and they all follow the same word-order pattern. Learn them once and you'll use them every day.

What each modal means

A few meanings are worth noticing:

• Zullen is used for promises and suggestions: Ik zal het morgen doen. — I'll do it tomorrow (I promise). Zullen we gaan? — Shall we go?
• Mogen also means "to like" a person: Ik mag hem wel. — I quite like him.
• Kunnen can mean "know" a language or skill: Ik kan een beetje Nederlands. — I know a bit of Dutch.

Present tense conjugation

All modals are irregular in the present. Note that ik, hij/zij/het never take a -t with kan, mag, wil and zal.

For jij, both forms are used: jij kunt is a bit more formal or written, jij kan is very common in speech. With inversion you'll mostly hear Kun je…?, Wil je…? and Zal ik…?.

Past tense conjugation

• Ik kon niet slapen. — I couldn't sleep.
• We moesten lang wachten. — We had to wait a long time.
• Als kind mocht ik geen cola drinken. — As a child I wasn't allowed to drink cola.
• Ze wilde naar huis. — She wanted to go home.

Wou is an informal alternative to wilde in the singular; both are correct. For more on the past tense in general, see the imperfect lesson.

Word order: the infinitive goes to the end

A modal is the conjugated verb, so it takes second position in a main clause. The verb it helps goes to the very end as an infinitive — without te.

• Ik wil morgen naar Amsterdam gaan. — I want to go to Amsterdam tomorrow.
• Morgen moet ik vroeg opstaan. — Tomorrow I have to get up early.
• Kun je het raam openmaken? — Can you open the window?

In a subordinate clause, the modal joins the infinitive at the end. Both orders occur, but in the Netherlands the modal usually comes first:

• Ik weet niet of ik morgen kan komen. — I don't know if I can come tomorrow.

Often the main verb is left out completely when the meaning is clear, especially with movement:

• Ik moet naar huis. — I have to go home.
• Dat mag niet. — That's not allowed.
• Wil je een kopje thee? — Do you want a cup of tea?

Want the full picture of verb positions? Read Dutch word order.

Hoeven … te: "don't need to"

English speakers often use moeten niet for "don't have to", but that means something different. Je moet niet roken means "you shouldn't smoke". To say something isn't necessary, use hoeven with a negation and te + infinitive:

• Je hoeft niet te komen. — You don't have to come.
• We hoeven morgen niet te werken. — We don't have to work tomorrow.
• Je hoeft geen cadeau mee te nemen. — You don't need to bring a present.

Hoeven is used almost only with niet, geen, nooit, or with restricting words like alleen and maar: Je hoeft alleen maar te bellen. — You only need to call. In a positive sentence, use moeten: Je moet komen. — You have to come.

Compare the three:

• Je moet hier niet parkeren. — You shouldn't park here (advice).
• Je mag hier niet parkeren. — You're not allowed to park here.
• Je hoeft hier niet te parkeren. — You don't need to park here.

Modals in the perfect tense: the double infinitive

This is where Dutch is very different from English. When a modal is used with another verb in the perfect tense, you don't use a past participle. Instead, you get two infinitives at the end: the modal and the main verb. The auxiliary is normally hebben.

• Ik heb gisteren moeten werken. — I had to work yesterday.
• We hebben het niet kunnen vinden. — We couldn't find it.
• Ze heeft altijd arts willen worden. — She always wanted to become a doctor.
• Ik heb niet mogen kiezen. — I wasn't allowed to choose.

This holds even when the main verb normally takes zijn: Ik ben naar huis gegaan, but Ik heb naar huis moeten gaan. — I had to go home.

Only when the modal stands alone do you use a normal participle: Dat heb ik nooit gewild. — I never wanted that. Hij heeft het niet gekund. — He wasn't able to do it. For the basics of the perfect tense, see the perfect tense.

Being polite with zou and zouden

The past forms of zullen — zou and zouden — are the key to polite Dutch. Combined with another modal, they soften requests and offers:

• Zou je het raam dicht willen doen? — Would you mind closing the window?
• Zou ik iets mogen vragen? — Could I ask something?
• Ik zou graag een kopje koffie willen. — I'd like a cup of coffee, please.
• Zou u mij kunnen helpen? — Could you help me?

Zou also gives advice and expresses possibility:

• Je zou eens met je baas moeten praten. — You should talk to your boss.
• Dat zou kunnen. — That could be.

In shops and cafés you'll also hear Ik wou graag… — an informal but perfectly polite way to order. More on this in conditional sentences.

Quick summary

• Modals: kunnen (can), moeten (must), mogen (may), willen (want), zullen (will/shall), hoeven (need, with negation).
• Kan, mag, wil, zal have no -t after ik and hij; jij kunt/kan, jij wilt/wil both occur.
• Past: kon, moest, mocht, wilde/wou, zou, hoefde.
• The modal is in second position; the infinitive goes to the end without te.
• "Don't have to" = niet hoeven te, not niet moeten.
• Perfect tense: hebben + double infinitive: Ik heb moeten werken.
• Be polite with zou/zouden: Zou je me kunnen helpen?

Practise it

Practise making plans with zullen in Talking about the future, use willen and zullen to invite people in Invitations, and master polite zou-sentences in Conditional sentences.