What did not happen
The past Konjunktiv II talks about what did not happen and now cannot be changed: I would have come, I could have helped, if I had known. German has one form for all of it, however the real past would have been expressed.
Ich hätte das nie geglaubt.
I would never have believed that.
Ohne dich wäre ich nie angekommen.
Without you I would never have arrived.
Wenn wir früher losgefahren wären, hätten wir den Zug bekommen.
If we had set off earlier, we would have caught the train.
In a wenn-sentence both halves take the same form.
With a modal verb: the double infinitive
When a modal verb joins the past Konjunktiv II, it does not become a participle. It turns into an infinitive and stands last, behind the main verb. The auxiliary is always hätte, even for verbs that normally take sein: ich wäre gekommen, but ich hätte kommen können.
Modals in the past Konjunktiv II
| Modal | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| können | ich hätte helfen können | I could have helped |
| müssen | ich hätte warten müssen | I would have had to wait |
| sollen | ich hätte fragen sollen | I should have asked |
| dürfen | ich hätte bleiben dürfen | I would have been allowed to stay |
| wollen | ich hätte mitkommen wollen | I would have wanted to come along |
Regret, reproach and near misses
In conversation the past Konjunktiv II mostly appears on its own, without wenn.
Regret about yourself
sollen in the double infinitive is the standard way to say I should have.
Ich hätte früher aufstehen sollen.
I should have got up earlier.
Das hätte ich besser nicht gesagt.
I really shouldn't have said that.
Reproach to somebody else
The du form with können is a mild telling-off. Small words such as ja, doch and auch mal keep it friendly.
Du hättest ja mal anrufen können.
You could have called, you know.
Du hättest doch auch mal Bescheid sagen können.
You could have let me know, you know.
The near miss
With fast or beinahe, the form describes something that nearly happened. English uses a plain past here (I almost fell), so nothing prompts you to switch mood.
Ich wäre fast hingefallen.
I almost fell over.
Wir hätten beinahe den Anschluss verpasst.
We nearly missed our connection.
