Müssen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Müssen means “to have to”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for müssen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with müssen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.” — “I must get up early tomorrow morning.”
  2. “Du musst heute viel arbeiten.” — “You must work a lot today.”
  3. “Ich habe es gemusst.” — “I have had to do it.”
  4. “Er musste morgen früh aufstehen.” — “He had to get up early tomorrow morning.”
  5. “Wir werden es müssen.” — “We will have to do it.”
  6. “Du hast es gemusst.” — “You have had to do it.”
  7. “Ich müsste morgen früh aufstehen.” — “I would have to get up early tomorrow morning.”
  8. “Er müsse heute viel arbeiten.” — “He must work a lot today.”
  9. “Wir hatten es gemusst.” — “We had had to do it.”
  10. “Er wird es müssen.” — “He will have to do it.”
  11. “Sie müssen heute viel arbeiten.” — “They must work a lot today.”
  12. “Du musst jetzt nach Hause gehen.” — “You must go home now.”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about get up early tomorrow morning. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how müssen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of müssen below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Musst du morgen früh aufstehen?” — “You must get up early tomorrow morning?” Jonas: “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.” — “I must get up early tomorrow morning.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde es müssen.” — “I will have to do it.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe es gemusst.” — “I have had to do it.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich müsste morgen früh aufstehen.” — “I would have to get up early tomorrow morning.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Müssen in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of müssen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, müssen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is muss: “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.” — “I must get up early tomorrow morning.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, müssen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is musste: “Er musste heute viel arbeiten.” — “He had to work a lot today.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, müssen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gemusst. The ich form is habe gemusst: “Ich habe es gemusst.” — “I have had to do it.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, müssen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden müssen: “Wir werden es müssen.” — “We will have to do it.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, müssen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is müsstest: “Du müsstest heute viel arbeiten.” — “You would have to work a lot today.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, müssen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is müsse: “Er müsse jetzt nach Hause gehen.” — “He must go home now.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich müssen morgen früh aufstehen.”

✓ Right: “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.”

The infinitive müssen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form muss.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du muss morgen früh aufstehen.”

✓ Right: “Du musst morgen früh aufstehen.”

muss is the ich form. With du you need musst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe es gemusst.”

The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gemusst, not the present.

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich müsse morgen früh aufstehen.” (quoted as reported speech)

In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: müsse, not the indicative muss.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gemusst morgen früh aufstehen.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe es gemusst.”

The Perfekt of müssen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gemusst: the full ich form is habe gemusst.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on müssen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the ich form of müssen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) muss
    • B) musst
    • C) müssen
    • D) müsst

  2. What is the du form of müssen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) musst
    • B) muss
    • C) müssen
    • D) müsst

  3. What is the er/sie/es form of müssen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) habe gemusst
    • B) hast gemusst
    • C) haben gemusst
    • D) hat gemusst

  4. What is the wir form of müssen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) musstet
    • B) mussten
    • C) musste
    • D) musstest

  5. What is the du form of müssen in the Future (Futur I)?

    • A) werden müssen
    • B) wirst müssen
    • C) werde müssen
    • D) wird müssen

  6. What is the ich form of müssen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?

    • A) müsste
    • B) müsstest
    • C) müssten
    • D) müsstet

  7. What is the er/sie/es form of müssen in the Konjunktiv I?

    • A) müsse
    • B) müssest
    • C) müssen
    • D) müsset

  8. What is the ich form of müssen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

    • A) hatten gemusst
    • B) hattet gemusst
    • C) hatte gemusst
    • D) hattest gemusst

  9. What is the past participle of müssen?

    • A) gemusst
    • B) gesollt
    • C) gewollt
    • D) gedurft

  10. What does müssen mean in English?

  • A) to want
  • B) to be allowed to
  • C) to have to
  • D) should, to be supposed to

Answer key

  1. A) muss — the ich form of müssen in the Present (Präsens) is muss. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. A) musst — the du form of müssen in the Present (Präsens) is musst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) hat gemusst — the er/sie/es form of müssen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gemusst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. B) mussten — the wir form of müssen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is mussten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) wirst müssen — the du form of müssen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst müssen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) müsste — the ich form of müssen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is müsste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. A) müsse — the er/sie/es form of müssen in the Konjunktiv I is müsse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. C) hatte gemusst — the ich form of müssen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gemusst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. A) gemusst — the past participle of müssen is gemusst. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. C) to have to — müssen means “to have to” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does müssen mean in English?

müssen means “to have to”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is müssen regular or irregular?

müssen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle. The present participle is müssend and the past participle is gemusst.

How do I practise müssen every day?

Say one sentence with müssen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.”, “Ich habe es gemusst.” and “Ich werde es müssen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for müssen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages