German - English (British) translations for "sollen"
"sollen" German translation
Translation
should
Definition
The German verb sollen expresses an obligation or a moral duty to do something.
Part of speech
verb
Translations
This is is an experimental feature. Please report any issues.Meaning: to be supposed to
Ich soll morgen früh aufstehen.
I am supposed to get up early tomorrow.
Meaning: to be said to
Er soll ein sehr guter Sänger sein.
He is said to be a very good singer.
Meaning: to be meant to
Das Buch soll sehr spannend sein.
The book is meant to be very exciting.
Meaning: to be expected to
Sie soll heute Abend pünktlich kommen.
She is expected to arrive on time this evening.
Meaning: to be rumored to
Es soll nächste Woche regnen.
It is rumored to rain next week.
Conjugations
Present
- ich soll
- du sollst
- er/sie/es soll
- wir sollen
- ihr sollt
- sie/Sie sollen
Past
- ich sollte
- du solltest
- er/sie/es sollte
- wir sollten
- ihr solltet
- sie/Sie sollten
Future
- ich werde sollen
- du wirst sollen
- er/sie/es wird sollen
- wir werden sollen
- ihr werdet sollen
- sie/Sie werden sollen
Pluperfect
- ich hatte gesollt
- du hattest gesollt
- er/sie/es hatte gesollt
- wir hatten gesollt
- ihr hattet gesollt
- sie/Sie hatten gesollt
Simple Past
- ich sollte
- du solltest
- er/sie/es sollte
- wir sollten
- ihr solltet
- sie/Sie sollten
Examples
This is is an experimental feature. Please report any issues.A1: Ich soll heute Abend einkaufen gehen.
A1: I should go shopping tonight.
A1: Du sollst deine Hausaufgaben machen.
A1: You should do your homework.
A1: Er soll pünktlich zum Meeting kommen.
A1: He should come to the meeting on time.
B1: Sie hat gesagt, dass ich das Buch lesen soll.
B1: She said that I should read the book.
B1: Wir sollen morgen früh anfangen.
B1: We are supposed to start early tomorrow.
B2: Ich hätte das nicht tun sollen.
B2: I shouldn't have done that.
C1: Wenn ich mehr Zeit hätte, würde ich öfter Sport treiben sollen.
C1: If I had more time, I should exercise more often.
C1: Hättest du mir nicht sagen sollen, dass du mich liebst?
C1: Shouldn't you have told me that you love me?
C2: Wäre es nicht besser gewesen, wenn sie früher gegangen wären sollen?
C2: Wouldn't it have been better if they had left earlier?
Advanced Description
This is is an experimental feature. Please report any issues.Sollen is a modal verb in German, which means it is used to modify the meaning of another verb. It is often translated as 'should' or 'ought to' in English. The verb expresses a sense of obligation or duty, either imposed by external circumstances or by one's own conscience. For example, 'Du sollst deine Hausaufgaben machen' (You should do your homework) implies that it is expected of you to complete your homework.
Sollen can also be used to express advice or recommendations. In this case, it is often translated as 'you should' or 'it would be advisable to'. For instance, 'Du solltest mehr Sport treiben' (You should do more sports) suggests that doing more sports would be beneficial for you.
It is important to note that sollen is conjugated differently depending on the subject and tense. For example, 'Ich soll' (I should), 'du sollst' (you should), and 'er/sie/es soll' (he/she/it should) are all different forms of the verb. Additionally, the past tense of sollen is 'sollte', which can be translated as 'should have'.