German · Chapter 1 · Lesson 18 · Grammar primer
The six modal verbs, as one block
Koennen, muessen, duerfen, sollen, wollen, moegen. They misbehave in exactly the same way as each other, so they are cheaper to learn together.
The short version
Ich will does not mean I will
It means I want. German builds its future with werden, not with wollen, and reaching for will to mean shall is the single most reliable way to spot an English speaker guessing. The six modals are worth learning as one block, because they all misbehave in exactly the same two places.
Ich will nach Haus gehen.
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