müssen
must / to have to
müssen means must / to have to.
Use müssen for strong obligation or necessity: taking medicine, going to the doctor, resting.
We use the perfect tense to say what someone has had to do, has been able to do, etc. The modal stays as an infinitive at the very end.
In the perfect tense the modal verb stays as an infinitive at the end. The auxiliary haben is conjugated:
| Person | Context | haben (auxiliary) |
|---|---|---|
| ich | I | habe |
| du | you (one person, informal) | hast |
| er/sie/es | he / she / it | hat |
| wir | we | haben |
| ihr | you (several people, informal) | habt |
| sie/Sie | they / you (formal, one or more people) | haben |
Structure: subject + haben + ... + main verb infinitive + müssen
German has three ways to say you:
- du – informal, one person
- ihr – informal, several people
- Sie – formal, one or more people (always capitalised when it means “you”)
The word sie (lowercase) can also mean she or they. Context and the verb form tell them apart:
- sie ist = she is
- sie sind = they are
- Sie sind = you are (formal)
Clinical register: In medical practice, use Sie with patients. Du/ihr are for colleagues, friends, or family.
Medical examples with the three you forms:
- Du hast zum Arzt gehen müssen
You (informal, one person) have had to go to the doctor - Ihr habt zum Arzt gehen müssen
You (informal, several people) have had to go to the doctor - Sie haben zum Arzt gehen müssen
You (formal) have had to go to the doctor
- zum Arzt gehen – go to the doctor
- die Tablette nehmen – take the tablet
- viel Wasser trinken – drink a lot of water
- im Bett bleiben – stay in bed
- Affirmative: Ich habe zum Arzt gehen müssen.
I have had to go to the doctor - Negative: Du hast die Tablette nicht nehmen müssen.
You (informal, one person) have not had to take the tablet - Affirmative: Der Patient hat viel Wasser trinken müssen.
The patient has had to drink a lot of water - Affirmative: Sie haben im Bett bleiben müssen.
You (formal) have had to stay in bed - Question: Hast du zum Arzt gehen müssen?
Have you (informal, one person) had to go to the doctor? - Negative: Wir haben die Tablette nicht nehmen müssen.
We have not had to take the tablet
- Conjugation — type the correct form for each person.
- Multiple choice — pick the verb that fits the sentence.
- Fill in the blank — type the missing modal form.
- Reorder — put the words in correct German order (modal in position 2, infinitive at the end).
- Dialogue — fill in the missing verb at the start of a doctor-patient question.
- Error correction — find and fix the wrong verb form.
- Translate — write the German sentence from English.
- Match — pair persons with forms or verbs with meanings.
Translate to German: You (formal) have had to go to the doctor
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Sie haben zum Arzt gehen müssen.
Translate to German: You (informal, one person) have not had to take the tablet
Show answer
Du hast die Tablette nicht nehmen müssen.
Ask the question in German: Have you (informal, one person) had to drink a lot of water?
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Hast du viel Wasser trinken müssen?
Put the words in the correct order: bleiben / hat / Patient / Der / im / Bett / müssen
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Der Patient hat im Bett bleiben müssen
- Meaning: müssen means must / to have to.
- Key forms: In the perfect tense, müssen stays as an infinitive at the very end, after the main verb: the double-infinitive order is ... + main verb + müssen.
- Word order: Subject + haben (conjugated) + ... + main verb infinitive + modal infinitive.
- Register: Use Sie with patients; du/ihr with peers, friends or family.
Practice this verb with exercises, or take a mixed test with all verbs.