A1 · beginner #SOLLEN

The verb sollen

das Modalverb sollen

sollen is a German modal verb that expresses what someone else wants from you, or a piece of advice: ich soll, du sollst, er soll.

müssen is a necessity, sollen is someone else’s wish. English squeezes “I have to go” and “I’m supposed to go” into similar-sounding phrases; German uses two separate verbs.

Contents

Conjugation — and the one oddity

ShortcutOf the six modals, sollen is the only one whose stem never changes: soll, no vowel shift.

The others change their vowel in the singular: können → kann, müssen → muss. sollen doesn’t; only the usual modal rule applies: ich and er are identical, and neither takes an ending.

Person	sollen	Example
ich	soll	Ich soll früher kommen.
du	sollst	Du sollst mehr schlafen.
er / sie / es	soll	Er soll warten.
wir	sollen	Wir sollen leise sein.
ihr	sollt	Ihr sollt aufräumen.
sie / Sie	sollen	Sie sollen unterschreiben.

Three jobs of sollen

Job	Who wants it	Example
1 · What someone else wants	A person or an institution	Der Arzt sagt, ich soll mehr schlafen. The doctor says I’m supposed to sleep more.
2 · Advice	The speaker	Du solltest nicht so viel arbeiten. You shouldn’t work so much.
3 · Offer of help	As a question	Soll ich dir helfen? Shall I help you?

The third one will be the most useful in daily life. The pattern Soll ich…? means “Shall I…?” or “Do you want me to…?”, and you will hear it in Germany constantly.

Soll ich das Fenster aufmachen? Shall I open the window? offer · the most common pattern
Was soll ich machen? What should I do? asking for advice
Du sollst nicht lügen. You shall not lie. rule · morals
Ich soll um acht da sein. I’m supposed to be there at eight. instruction
Du solltest mehr schlafen. You should sleep more. soft advice
Er soll sehr nett sein. He’s supposed to be very nice (so they say). based on hearsay

The form solltest / sollte softens advice: Du sollst mehr schlafen sounds like an instruction, Du solltest mehr schlafen like friendly advice. When Germans give advice, they almost always use this form.

sollen or müssen — who wants it?

ShortcutIf it is a necessity, müssen; if a person wants it, sollen. The question is: who asked for this?

English blurs the two a little — “I have to go to the doctor” and “I’m supposed to go to the doctor” sound close, and “should” covers a lot of ground. German is strict: a sentence shows where the obligation comes from, and the wrong choice changes the meaning.

Ich muss zum Arzt.

I have to go to the doctor. (it’s necessary, I have no choice)

Ich soll zum Arzt.

I’m supposed to go to the doctor. (someone told me to)

	müssen	sollen
Source	Circumstances · rule · need	A person’s wish
Force	Necessity	Wish, instruction, advice
Example	Ich muss arbeiten.	Ich soll arbeiten.
Meaning	I have to work	I’ve been told to work

In the negative the gap gets even bigger: Ich muss nicht means “I don’t have to”, while Ich soll nicht means “I’ve been told not to”. The müssen page covers the negative side in detail.

Traps

TRAP 01

Making an offer of help with müssen

When you ask “Shall I…?”, the right verb is sollen. Ask with müssen and you are saying “Do I have to…?”.

Muss ich dir helfen?

this means “Do I have to help you?”

Soll ich dir helfen?

Shall I help you?

TRAP 02

er sollt — adding an ending to a modal

Modal verbs don’t take a personal ending; ich and er are identical.

Er sollt um acht kommen.

no -t ending on a modal

Er soll um acht kommen.

He’s supposed to come at eight.

TRAP 03

Giving advice too bluntly

Telling a friend Du sollst… sounds like an order. The soft form is solltest.

Du sollst zum Arzt gehen.

sounds like an instruction

Du solltest zum Arzt gehen.

I think you should see a doctor.

Practice now

What you just learned

___ ich das Fenster aufmachen?
Show the answer
Soll, soll — Soll. Offers of help in the form “Shall I…?” are made with the pattern Soll ich...?
The sentence “Du sollst zum Arzt gehen.” gives friendly advice.
Show the answer
False. sollst sounds like an instruction or order; for friendly advice you should use solltest.
The doctor says I’m supposed to sleep more.
Show the answer
Der Arzt sagt, ich soll mehr schlafen. — ich soll. The wish comes from someone else (the doctor) → sollen. darf would be permission, will your own wish.

The other modal verbs

Same group

Modal verbs — overview The verb müssen The verb können The verb dürfen The verb wollen mögen · möchten

06Build

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Tips

Know this before the test

The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.

sollen = the instruction comes from someone else
A doctor, a boss, a rule — someone else wants it: Ich soll mehr schlafen. (the doctor said so)
Der Arzt sagt, ich soll mehr schlafen.
Soll ich …? = Shall I …?
The pattern for offering help: Soll ich dir helfen? · for a shared plan: Sollen wir ins Kino?
Soll ich dir helfen?
solltest = friendly advice
The Konjunktiv form softens it: Du solltest zum Arzt gehen. (I think you’d better go)
Du solltest mehr schlafen.
Easy conjugation: no umlaut
ich soll · du sollst · er soll · wir sollen · ihr sollt — the only modal in the family whose stem never changes.
er soll um acht kommen

Ich soll Ärztin werden. (when it’s your own decision)
Ich will Ärztin werden.
Your own wish is wollen; sollen carries someone else’s plan.
Du sollst zum Arzt gehen. (meant as friendly advice)
Du solltest zum Arzt gehen.
sollst passes on an order; advice needs the Konjunktiv.
Was soll ich machen? = What am I doing?
Was soll ich machen? = What should I do?
The pattern asks for advice or expresses helplessness, not the present tense.
Er sollt um acht kommen.
Er soll um acht kommen.
The third person singular takes no -t.

0605:50

Test yourself

Tap an answer — we will look at why together.

Shall I help you?

Soll ich. The “Shall I…?” pattern is built with sollen. Muss ich…? would mean “Do I have to…?”.

The doctor says I’m supposed to sleep more.

ich soll. The wish comes from someone else (the doctor) → sollen. darf would be permission, will your own wish.

Er um acht kommen.

He’s supposed to come at eight.

soll. With modal verbs the er/sie/es form is the same as ich and takes no ending.

I think you should see a doctor. (friendly advice)

solltest. The soft form of advice. sollst sounds like an instruction, musst like a necessity.

What should I do?

Was soll ich machen? sollen is used when you ask for advice. Was muss ich machen? would mean “what do I have to do?”.

You shall not lie.

nicht lügen. The infinitive is not conjugated and takes no zu; nicht stands in front of the infinitive.

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Worksheet

sollen pocket card

This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.

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Dativ verbs

helfen · gefallen · gehören · geben

Dativ verbs are German verbs whose object goes in the dative case: helfen, gefallen, gehören, geben.

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Verbs