Konjunktiv II without the headache
When to use würde, the irregular forms worth memorising, and how examiners read it at B2.
Konjunktiv II scares people because it looks like a whole second tense system. At B2 it isn't. You need it for three jobs — politeness, hypotheticals, and reported speech — and for most verbs there's one safe default. Learn the default and the short list of exceptions, and you're done.
The safe default: würde + infinitive
For nearly every verb, würde plus the infinitive is correct and natural:
Ich würde gern einen Termin vereinbaren. Wenn ich mehr Zeit hätte, würde ich mehr lesen.
When in doubt, use würde. Examiners accept it everywhere except where a one-word form is clearly idiomatic.
The forms worth memorising
A handful of common verbs use a one-word Konjunktiv II that sounds wrong if you replace it with würde:
- sein → wäre
- haben → hätte
- werden → würde
- modals: können → könnte, müssen → müsste, dürfen → dürfte
Use wäre, hätte, and könnte directly — ich würde sein is a giveaway.
How examiners read it
At B2, correct, natural-sounding politeness (Könnten Sie …, Ich würde vorschlagen, dass …) signals control of register. You don't need exotic forms; you need the common ones to come out automatically. Drill those four irregulars until they're reflex, default to würde for the rest, and the headache is gone.
