Table of Contents
Unit 3 Review
The Modal Verbs קענען, װעלן (װיל), דאַרפֿן
The concept "modal verbs" is explained in 3.2 נאָך פּרטים and 6.5 נאָך פּרטים.
The verb קענען expresses the ability to do something.
The verb וועלן expresses a desire to do something.
The verb דאַרפֿן expresses a need or obligation to do something.
The infinitive וועלן is irregular. The base form of the verb is וויל.
The ער/זי/עס form of וועלן, קענען and דאַרפֿן has no ending in the present tense:
- ער/זי/עס קען
- ער/זי/עס וויל
- ער/זי/עס דאַרף
וועלן, קענען and דאַרפֿן can come with an infinitive or a direct object, and sometimes appear alone, for example:
On קענען + noun, see 4.3 נאָך פּריטם.
The Future Tense
The future tense consists of the helping verb וועל and the infinitive:
For example:
Word Order: Modal Verbs and the Future Tense
The subject or an adverb may (but does not have to) be placed between the conjugated verb and the infinitive. The negative נישט must be placed between them, and is usually right before the infinitive. For example:
See also the general description of word order in .5.3 נאָך פּרטים
נישט קיין
The negative article קיין replaces the indefinite article אַ/אַן in a negative sentence. קיין is also added to a negative sentence before a noun that refers to something nonspecific, even when אַ/אַן is not present in the positive sentence. For example:
The definite article remains in a negative sentence. For example:
The Familiar דו and the Respectful איר
The pronoun איר is used as a respectful form of address, even in the singular (addressing one person). For example, a child addresses an adult (other than family or a close friend) as איר; adults address each other as איר if they don’t know each other well or want to show respect. The familiar דו is used with family and close friends.
Remember: איר is always used when addressing more than one person, whether in a familiar or a respectful way.
Word Order with Quotations
When what a person “says”, “thinks”, “asks”, or “answers” is quoted and the quotation is at the beginning of the sentence, it is regarded as the first sentence unit. Since the conjugated verb must be the second sentence unit, it has to come right after the quotation and the subject comes after that (...פֿרעגט די פֿרוי).
On sentence units and word order see 2.4 נאָך פּרטים.
