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fluentbyear

GERMAN VERB

sollen

should, to be supposed to

  • #10 most used
  • Modal verb
  • Past participle: gesollt

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

  1. ich I should
  2. du you should
  3. er, sie, es he/she should
  4. wir we should
  5. ihr you all should
  6. sie, Sie they should

Simple past

Präteritum · the past of writing, and of sein, haben and the modals in speech

  1. ich I should have
  2. du you should have
  3. er, sie, es he/she should have
  4. wir we should have
  5. ihr you all should have
  6. sie, Sie they should have

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

  1. ich I should have
  2. du you should have
  3. er, sie, es he/she should have
  4. wir we should have
  5. ihr you all should have
  6. sie, Sie they should have

Future

Futur I · “werden”; in speech the present with “morgen” does the job

  1. ich I should
  2. du you should
  3. er, sie, es he/she should
  4. wir we should
  5. ihr you all should
  6. sie, Sie they should

Conditional

Konjunktiv II · “would”: “würde”, and “wäre”, “hätte”, “könnte”

  1. ich I should
  2. du you should
  3. er, sie, es he/she should
  4. wir we should
  5. ihr you all should
  6. sie, Sie they should

How to use sollen

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Soll ich dir noch einen Kaffee machen?

    Shall I make you another coffee?

  2. Simple past

    Ich sollte um neun im Büro sein.

    I was supposed to be at the office at nine.

  3. Perfect

    Die Kinder haben eigentlich um acht ins Bett gesollt.

    The kids were actually supposed to be in bed at eight.

  4. Future

    Wer wird das denn alles bezahlen sollen?

    Who is going to be expected to pay for all that?

  5. Conditional

    Du solltest wirklich mal zum Arzt gehen.

    You should really go to the doctor.

Good to know

  • Sollen says what someone else wants from you: Ich soll um acht da sein, that is what the boss said.
  • Sollte is should, as advice: Du solltest mehr schlafen.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: modal verb.