With Konjunktiv II (the subjunctive II) you sound polite and express wishes or unreal situations. At B2 level it is part of your secure repertoire. Here you learn how to form and use it.
Forming Konjunktiv II
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Most often you use würde + infinitive: “Ich würde gern kommen.” Besides this there are important short forms you should memorise:
- sein → wäre
- haben → hätte
- können → könnte
- müssen → müsste
- mögen → möchte
Closely related are the modal verbs, which sound especially polite in Konjunktiv II. The formal B2 style also includes the passive.
What you need Konjunktiv II for
- Polite requests: “Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen?”
- Wishes: “Ich hätte gern einen Termin.”
- Unreal sentences: “Wenn ich mehr Zeit hätte, würde ich mehr üben.”
What the part is about is shown in telc B2 language elements.
In the telc exam
Konjunktiv II appears in gaps and in the oral exam. How to proceed with the language elements is in solving language elements strategically, and where the part sits in the procedure is shown by the page on the exam sections.
The bottom line
With “würde + infinitive” and a few short forms like wäre, hätte and könnte, you cover Konjunktiv II confidently. That makes you more polite and more flexible in expression.
