Let's start with the conjugation:
| wollen
in German is little polite |
As also in English
the German wollen
is not really the polite
version. Therefore the Germans mostly use in formal
context the conjunctive of mögen
=> möchte.
Ich will ein Brot.
= I want a bread.
but
Ich möchte ein Brot.
= I would like a bread.
Besides möchte there
is also another form of avoiding the verb wollen: Ich
hätte gerne = I
would have.
 |
a) Ich
will ein Brot. = I want bread. |
|
| |
b) Ich
möchte ein Brot. = I would like
bread. |
|
| |
c) Ich
hätte gerne ein Brot. = I would
have bread. |
|
|
As well b) as c) are used
frequently in present tense. Hätte
is the conjunctive II of haben.
See also conditional
clauses
|
wollen in past tense |
|
 |
Ich
wollte ein Brot. = I wanted bread |
|
|
In past tense the verb mögen
is not used, because it sounds very strange (ich mochte
ein Brot). In past tenses (simple and compound) the
good old wollen
is used again.
| |
mögen in past tense |
|
 |
Ich
mochte ihn nicht. = I didn't like him. |
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In past tense the verb mögen regains its semantic value
|