All 90 topics

A2 · Modal verbs and infinitives

Kunnen, moeten, willen, mogen

the modal verbs

Your goal

You can talk about ability, necessity, wishes and permission with kunnen, moeten, willen and mogen, with the infinitive at the end.

Je moet hier links afslaan.You have to turn left here.

Mag ik binnenkomen?May I come in?

We willen volgend jaar verhuizen.We want to move next year.

Done at 8 of 10 · about 4 min

Explainer video

Watch first – then practise

The essentials

Remembermogen is “may”; “like” is houden van, graag or lusten — and wil is “want”, not “will”.

Four modal verbs with their own forms — kan, moet, wil, mag — and the infinitive at the end of the clause.

Signal words: kan
kun
moet
wil
mag
kunnen
moeten
willen
mogen

The form

The forms side by side

All the forms in one overview: first what each one stands for, then the form in Dutch, so you can compare them directly.

can	ik kan, jij kunt/kan, hij kan, wij kunnen
must, have to	ik moet, jij moet, hij moet, wij moeten
want to	ik wil, jij wilt/wil, hij wil, wij willen
may, be allowed to	ik mag, jij mag, hij mag, wij mogen
past tense	kon/konden, moest/moesten, wilde/wilden, mocht/mochten
word order	Ik kan morgen niet komen.

The rules one by one

The form this topic is about

The modal verb comes second, the infinitive goes to the end.
Ik kan goed zwemmen.I can swim well.
kunnen, willen and mogen have forms of their own in the singular.
Hij wil naar huis.He wants to go home.
mogen means “may, be allowed to”.
Mag ik even je pen lenen?May I borrow your pen for a moment?

More rules (2)

After jij both kunt/kan and wilt/wil are right.
Kun je me helpen?Can you help me?
A modal verb can stand without a second verb.
Ik moet naar de dokter.I have to go to the doctor.

Example sentences

6 more example sentences

Ze kan niet komen, ze is ziek.She can’t come, she is ill.

Kinderen mogen hier gratis naar binnen.Children can get in free here.

Dat kan niet!That’s not possible!

Je mag hier niet parkeren.You are not allowed to park here.

Wil je iets drinken?Would you like something to drink?

Ik moet nog boodschappen doen.I still have to do some shopping.

The trap English speakers fall into

Watch out

mogen is permission only. Ik mag kaas says “I am allowed cheese”, never “I like cheese”. Dutch has no one verb for liking: houden vanfor what you lovegraagwith a verb for what you enjoy doinglustenfor food

Wrong:Ik mag kaas.

Right:Ik lust graag kaas.

Lesson

The full explanation

Read it all · about 1 min

The modal verb takes second place and the infinitive of the main verb goes to the end: Ik kan morgen niet komen. “I can’t come tomorrow.” Je moet even wachten. “You have to wait a moment.” Ze wil een hond. “She wants a dog.” Mag ik hier roken? “May I smoke here?” English keeps the infinitive right behind the modal; Dutch moves it away, so with a long middle part the two verbs can stand far apart. In the singular kunnen, willen and mogen have forms of their own: ik kan, ik wil, ik mag, and there is no -t for hij, just as there is no “-s” on English “can”.

The meanings overlap with English, with two warnings. Willen is “to want” and is the verb for wishes — wil is not the English “will”, which is zal or a plain present tense. And mogen is permission, “may, be allowed to”; English “can I?” for permission is Mag ik? in careful Dutch. For liking, English “I like” has no modal in Dutch: houden van, graag or, for food, lusten. Kunnen also expresses a possibility: Dat kan. “That’s possible.”

As in English, the modal can stand without a second verb when it is clear what is meant: Ik moet naar huis. “I have to go home.” Mag dat? “Is that allowed?” Ik kan het niet. “I can’t do it.”

A closer look

Modal verbs without an infinitive

After a verb of movement the infinitive is often left out: Ik moet naar huis, Ik wil naar buiten — English does the same with “I must go home”, and also drops the verb in “I must be off”. Dutch goes further: Dat moet“That has to be”Dat mag“That is allowed”Dat kan“That’s possible”

Exceptions and special cases2

Exception
When it is about people
then mogen can also mean “to like, to be fond of”: Ik mag haar wel.
Ik mag mijn nieuwe collega wel.I like my new colleague.
Why? This meaning exists, but only for people and mostly with wel.
Exception
When somebody orders politely
then mogen stands for “could I have”: Mag ik een koffie?
Mag ik de rekening?Could I have the bill, please?
Why? Literally “May I a coffee?” — perfectly normal Dutch.

Worth knowing2

Worth knowing
Kun je or kan je
After the verb you will see kun je and kan je; kunt loses its -t like any verb before je. Both are correct, kun je is considered slightly more careful.
Kun je even wachten?Can you wait a moment?
Worth knowing
The past tense
In the past tense all four are irregular: kon, moest, wilde (colloquially wou), mocht. They are more common in stories than their perfect — much as English prefers “I had to” to “I have had to” when telling what happened.
Ik moest lang wachten.I had to wait a long time.

The verbs on this page, in every form: mogen · kunnen · moeten · willen · zijn · komen · verhuizen · zwemmen · lenen