konnte
(verb) (simple past) (ich / er/sie/es/man)
to be able to
This verb belongs to a group called "modal verbs". These verbs indicate obligations, permissions, preferences, likelihoods and abilities, and are usually used in combination with a second verb. (eg; I want + to play.) There are six modal verbs in German: dürfen (to be allowed to), können (to be able to), mögen (to like), müssen (to have to), sollen (to be supposed to), wollen (to want to).
After modal verbs the second verb is put in the infinitive and sent to the end of the sentence. Eg; Ich will mit dir spielen (I want to play with you).
