The German language has three verb moods, the indicative, the Konjunktiv (I and II) and the imperative.
The speaker can give a certain meaning to his/her statement through the choice of mood. In general, the three moods have the following functions:
| mood | function |
| indicative | real |
| Konjunktiv I | indirect speech |
| Konjunktiv II | unreal |
| imperative | request/command |
In the following examples, one can realise how the verb mood can differentiate the meaning of a statement/utterance.
| mood | Examples |
| indicative | Er kam sofort zurück. |
| Konjunktiv I | Er behauptet, er sei sofort zurückgekommen. |
| Konjunktiv II | Wenn er doch sofort zurückgekommen wäre! |
| imperative | Komm sofort zurück! |