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Dutch modal verbs

The Dutch modal verbs are kunnen (can), moeten (must, have to), mogen (may, be allowed to), willen (want to) and zullen (will, shall). The modal is conjugated in second position and the main verb goes to the end of the clause as a bare infinitive: Ik kan morgen niet komen. Their present forms are irregular in the singular (ik kan, ik mag, ik wil, ik zal) and their past forms (kon, moest, mocht, wilde, zou) are worth learning early, because Dutch uses modals in the simple past far more than in the perfect.

The five modals at a glance

Conjugation tables

Modals are irregular in the singular: the ik and hij forms often share a shape that is not the bare stem. The plural is regular (the infinitive).

Both jij kunt and jij kan are correct; kunt is the traditional standard, kan is very common in speech. Likewise jij wilt and jij wil both occur. The past forms have their own section below.

Zullen in the present

Zullen follows the same pattern as kunnen: ik zal, jij zult/zal, u zult, hij zal, wij/jullie/zij zullen. Jij zult is the written standard, jij zal the common spoken form. After inversion the jij forms lose their -t: Kun je…?, Wil je…?, Zul je…?

Word order: the infinitive goes to the end

This is the single most important pattern. In a main clause, the modal takes second position and the lexical verb becomes a bare infinitive at the very end.

Everything else — objects, adverbs, time and place — sits between the modal and the final infinitive. In a subordinate clause both verbs cluster at the end: …omdat ik Nederlands wil leren (…because I want to learn Dutch). This end-cluster behaviour is the core of Dutch word order.

The past tense of Dutch modal verbs

In the simple past (imperfectum) the modals follow no single pattern, so learn the full set. The table also gives the past participle, which you need only when a modal is used on its own in the perfect.

Wou is the colloquial past of willen, fine in speech; wilde is the standard in writing. Zou/zouden also build the conditional (“would”) — see the future tense. The past forms carry the same word order as the present: modal in second position, infinitive at the end.

• Gisteren kon ik niet komen. — Yesterday I couldn’t come.
• We moesten lang wachten. — We had to wait a long time.
• Als kind mocht ik geen snoep eten. — As a child I wasn’t allowed to eat sweets.
• Ze wilde naar huis. — She wanted to go home.
• Hij zou om acht uur bellen. — He was going to call at eight.

The past forms also make requests and suggestions more polite, much like English “could” and “would”: Kon u mij even helpen?, Zou je het raam dicht willen doen?, Ik wou vragen of…. For the regular past-tense rules see the Dutch past tense, and for the other irregular verbs the irregular verb list.

Using the modals precisely

kunnen covers ability and possibility: Kun je zwemmen? (Can you swim?), Dat kan gebeuren (That can happen). moeten is obligation or strong necessity: Ik moet werken (I have to work). It also expresses logical certainty — Hij moet thuis zijn (He must be home). mogen is permission: Je mag hier roken (You're allowed to smoke here), and its past mocht softens requests. willen is wanting: Ik wil koffie (I want coffee) — note it can take a direct object without an infinitive.

Mogen versus kunnen

English "can" blurs ability and permission, which trips learners up. Dutch keeps them separate. Kan ik hier parkeren? asks whether parking is physically possible; Mag ik hier parkeren? asks whether it is allowed. When you mean "am I permitted", use mogen. Similarly, to ask permission politely, Mag ik…? is the natural choice, not Kan ik…?

Hoeven: the negative of moeten

To say something is not necessary, Dutch does not usually negate moeten. It uses the special verb hoeven, which appears almost only with a negation (niet, geen, nooit) and pairs the infinitive with te.

Beware the false friend: Je moet niet komen does not mean "you don't have to come" — it means "you must not come". For "don't have to", always use hoeven. This is one of the most common and consequential errors learners make, listed among the common mistakes Dutch learners make.

Modals without an infinitive, and stacked modals

A modal does not always need a second verb. When the missing verb is obvious — usually “go”, “do” or “have” — Dutch simply leaves it out:

• Ik moet naar huis. — I have to go home.
• Kun jij dat? — Can you do that?
• Dat mag niet. — That isn’t allowed.
• Ik wil een nieuwe fiets. — I want a new bike.

Modals can also be combined. The first one is conjugated; the others stand as infinitives at the end, in the order of the English meaning: Je moet kunnen zwemmen (you must be able to swim), Ik zou graag willen komen (I would like to come), Dat zou moeten kunnen (that ought to be possible). The proverb willen is kunnen (“where there’s a will there’s a way”) uses both as nouns.

A few other verbs behave like modals and take a bare infinitive with no te: laten (let, have something done: Ik laat mijn haar knippen), gaan (going to: We gaan eten), blijven (Hij blijft slapen) and komen (Ze komt eten). Most other verbs need te before the infinitive: Ik probeer te slapen.

The perfect with modals: double infinitive

When a modal appears in the perfect tense together with a main verb, the modal surprisingly takes an infinitive form rather than a participle — the "infinitivus pro participio" or double-infinitive construction: Ik heb niet kunnen komen (I haven't been able to come), Ze heeft moeten werken (She had to work). A modal used alone, however, forms a normal participle: Ik heb het niet gewild (I didn't want it). Most of the time, though, the imperfect (ik kon, ik moest) is simpler and more natural than the perfect. See the perfect tense for the helper rules.

Belgian usage

The forms and rules are shared standard Dutch. In Flemish speech gij kunt/gij moogt appear with the gij pronoun, and moeten niet is sometimes heard colloquially for "don't have to" — but in careful Dutch, north and south alike, hoeven is the correct choice. The word mogen also does heavier duty in Flanders in polite offers (Mag het iets meer zijn? at the counter), which is standard across the language area.

Frequently asked questions

What are the modal verbs in Dutch?

The five core modals are kunnen (can), moeten (must, have to), mogen (may, be allowed to), willen (want to) and zullen (will, shall). Hoeven is added as the negative of moeten.

What is the past tense of the Dutch modal verbs?

Kunnen becomes kon/konden, moeten becomes moest/moesten, mogen becomes mocht/mochten, willen becomes wilde/wilden (spoken wou) and zullen becomes zou/zouden.

How do you conjugate kunnen in the present tense?

Ik kan, jij kunt or kan, u kunt, hij kan, and wij, jullie, zij kunnen.

What is the difference between mogen and kunnen?

Kunnen is about ability or possibility; mogen is about permission. Kan ik hier parkeren? asks whether it is possible; Mag ik hier parkeren? asks whether it is allowed.

Does the verb after a modal go to the end of the sentence?

Yes. The modal is conjugated in second position and the main verb goes to the end as an infinitive without te: Ik wil morgen een boek kopen. In a subordinate clause both verbs go to the end: omdat ik een boek wil kopen.

How do you say "don't have to" in Dutch?

Use hoeven with a negation and te: Je hoeft niet te komen. Je moet niet komen means that you should not come.