sollen

Should: Sollen

Level 2

sollen = should, to be supposed to: Du solls méi Waasser drénken. (You should drink more water.)

How It Works

Forms

  • ech soll, du solls, hien/si/hatt/et soll
  • mir sollen, dir/Dir sollt, si sollen

The hien form has no -t. By the n-rule, hien becomes hie before soll, and sollen becomes solle before most consonants: Mir solle méi spueren.

Duties and advice from others
With an infinitive at the end (see modal + infinitive):

  • Du solls méi Waasser drénken. (You should drink more water.)
  • Den Dokter seet, ech soll méi spadséiere goen. (The doctor says I should go for more walks.)
  • De Patron soll seng Leit anstänneg bezuelen. (The boss should pay his staff decently.)

Questions
Soll ech …? offers help or asks what someone wants: Soll ech d’Fënster zoumaachen? (Shall I close the window?), Wat soll ech maachen? (What should I do?)

Sollen or mussen?
Mussen expresses a real necessity: Ech muss elo goen, mäi Bus fiert. Sollen is weaker and points to someone’s expectation: Ech soll elo goen means I am supposed to go now.

Softer advice
The conditional sollt makes advice gentler: Du sollts méi schlofen. (You ought to sleep more.) See conditional modals. The same form is also the simple past (konnt/wollt/sollt/duerft).

Hearsay
At a higher level, sollen also reports what people say: Hie soll ganz räich sinn (He is said to be very rich). See sollen (hearsay).

Examples (6)

  1. Du solls méi Waasser drénken.

    You should drink more water.

    Word by Word: You should more water drink.

    The infinitive drénken goes to the end.

  2. Soll ech d’Fënster zoumaachen?

    Shall I close the window?

    Word by Word: Shall I the window close?

    Soll ech …? offers to do something.

  3. Wat soll ech maachen?

    What should I do?

    Word by Word: What shall I do?

  4. Den Dokter seet, ech soll méi spadséiere goen.

    The doctor says I should go for more walks.

    Word by Word: The doctor says, I shall more walk go.

    The advice comes from someone else, so sollen fits.

  5. De Patron soll seng Leit anstänneg bezuelen.

    The boss should pay his staff decently.

    Word by Word: The boss shall his people decently pay.

  6. Mir solle méi ekonomesch mam Waasser ëmgoen.

    We should use water more sparingly.

    Word by Word: We should more economically with the water deal.

    Sollen loses its n before the m of méi.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the -s in the du form.

    Du soll méi Waasser drénken.
    Du solls méi Waasser drénken.

    The du form of sollen ends in -s: du solls.

  • Keeping the n of hien before soll.

    Hien soll méi schlofen.
    Hie soll méi schlofen.

    By the n-rule, hien loses its n before the s of soll.

  • Using sollen for a need that comes from the situation.

    Ech soll elo goen, mäi Bus fiert. (meant: I have to go)
    Ech muss elo goen, mäi Bus fiert.

    Sollen means someone expects it of you. When the situation makes it necessary, like a leaving bus, use mussen.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

sollenLevel 2Should: Sollen

Learn This First

Before Should: Sollen, learn Modal Verb and Infinitive.

Words in This Pattern

sollen