Modal Verbs
ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದಗಳು (ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ, ಬೇಕು...)
German modal verbs like können ('can') and müssen ('must') push the main verb all the way to the end of the sentence — which, for once, makes German line up almost exactly with Kannada word order.
Grammar Comparison
ವ್ಯಾಕರಣ ಹೋಲಿಕೆ
Modal + infinitive-at-the-end ~ Kannada's verb-final ability construction
Ich kann Deutsch sprechen. (I can German speak — sprechen goes last)
ನನಗೆ ಜರ್ಮನ್ ಮಾತಾಡಲು ಬರುತ್ತದೆ. (to-me German to-speak comes — the ability verb also comes last)
This is one of the strongest word-order matches on this entire site. German modal verbs (können, müssen, wollen, möchten, dürfen) sit in the normal verb-second slot, but they push the main action verb — in its infinitive form — all the way to the end of the clause. Kannada expresses ability with a similar shape: the 'comes/is-possible' element comes at the very end, after the action verb. Both languages end up saying, in effect, 'I German speak-can' rather than English's 'I can speak German' — trust this word order, it's a place your Kannada instinct genuinely helps in German.
Vocabulary
ಪದಗಳು
- Kannada
- ನನ್ನಿಂದ ಆಗುತ್ತದೆnanninda aaguttade
- English
- I can
- Kannada
- ನಾನು ...ಬೇಕುnaanu ...beku
- English
- I must
- Kannada
- ನನಗೆ ಬೇಕುnanage beku
- English
- I want to
- Kannada
- ನನಗೆ ಬೇಕು (ಸೌಜನ್ಯದಿಂದ)nanage beku (saujanyadinda)
- English
- I would like to
- Kannada
- ನನಗೆ ಅನುಮತಿ ಇದೆnanage anumati ide
- English
- I may / am allowed to