Pouvoir, vouloir, devoir and savoir

Kurz erklärt

These four common verbs express ability, wishes, necessity, or knowledge. Pouvoir means “can” or “to be able to,” vouloir means “to want,” devoir means “must” or “to have to,” and savoir means “to know.” Before another verb, savoir often means knowing how to do something.

Bildung

Present tense: pouvoir: peux, peux, peut, pouvons, pouvez, peuvent; vouloir: veux, veux, veut, voulons, voulez, veulent; devoir: dois, dois, doit, devons, devez, doivent; savoir: sais, sais, sait, savons, savez, savent. When another action follows, use its infinitive directly: je peux venir.

Verwendung

• Use pouvoir for ability or permission.
• Use vouloir for wishes and intentions.
• Use devoir for obligations or necessities.
• Use savoir for knowledge or knowing how to do something.

Beispiele

• Je peux venir demain. — I can come tomorrow.
• Elle veut acheter du pain. — She wants to buy some bread.
• Nous devons partir maintenant. — We have to leave now.
• Tu sais nager ? — Do you know how to swim?

Typischer Fehler

❌ Je peux parle.

✅ Je peux parler.

After a conjugated modal verb, the second verb stays in the infinitive.

Merke

The first verb is conjugated; a following verb stays in the infinitive. Learn these four present-tense forms as irregular patterns.