Sollen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Sollen means “should, to be supposed to”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for sollen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with sollen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich soll morgen kommen.” — “I should come tomorrow.”
  2. “Du sollst heute Abend zu Hause bleiben.” — “You should stay at home this evening.”
  3. “Ich habe es gesollt.” — “I have been supposed to do it.”
  4. “Er sollte morgen kommen.” — “He was supposed to come tomorrow.”
  5. “Wir werden es sollen.” — “We will be supposed to do it.”
  6. “Du hast es gesollt.” — “You have been supposed to do it.”
  7. “Ich sollte morgen kommen.” — “I would be supposed to come tomorrow.”
  8. “Er solle heute Abend zu Hause bleiben.” — “He should stay at home this evening.”
  9. “Wir hatten es gesollt.” — “We had been supposed to do it.”
  10. “Er wird es sollen.” — “He will be supposed to do it.”
  11. “Sie sollen heute Abend zu Hause bleiben.” — “They should stay at home this evening.”
  12. “Du sollst den Lehrer fragen.” — “You should ask the teacher.”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about come tomorrow. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how sollen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of sollen below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Sollst du morgen kommen?” — “You should come tomorrow?” Jonas: “Ich soll morgen kommen.” — “I should come tomorrow.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde es sollen.” — “I will be supposed to do it.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe es gesollt.” — “I have been supposed to do it.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich sollte morgen kommen.” — “I would be supposed to come tomorrow.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Sollen in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of sollen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, sollen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is soll: “Ich soll morgen kommen.” — “I should come tomorrow.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, sollen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is sollte: “Er sollte heute Abend zu Hause bleiben.” — “He was supposed to stay at home this evening.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, sollen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gesollt. The ich form is habe gesollt: “Ich habe es gesollt.” — “I have been supposed to do it.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, sollen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden sollen: “Wir werden es sollen.” — “We will be supposed to do it.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, sollen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is solltest: “Du solltest heute Abend zu Hause bleiben.” — “You would be supposed to stay at home this evening.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, sollen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is solle: “Er solle den Lehrer fragen.” — “He should ask the teacher.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich sollen morgen kommen.”

✓ Right: “Ich soll morgen kommen.”

The infinitive sollen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form soll.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du soll morgen kommen.”

✓ Right: “Du sollst morgen kommen.”

soll is the ich form. With du you need sollst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich soll morgen kommen gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe es gesollt.”

The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gesollt, not the present.

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich soll morgen kommen.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich solle morgen kommen.” (quoted as reported speech)

In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: solle, not the indicative soll.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gesollt morgen kommen.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe es gesollt.”

The Perfekt of sollen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gesollt: the full ich form is habe gesollt.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on sollen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the ich form of sollen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) sollen
    • B) sollt
    • C) soll
    • D) sollst

  2. What is the du form of sollen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) soll
    • B) sollen
    • C) sollt
    • D) sollst

  3. What is the er/sie/es form of sollen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) haben gesollt
    • B) hat gesollt
    • C) habe gesollt
    • D) hast gesollt

  4. What is the wir form of sollen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) sollte
    • B) solltest
    • C) solltet
    • D) sollten

  5. What is the du form of sollen in the Future (Futur I)?

    • A) wird sollen
    • B) werden sollen
    • C) wirst sollen
    • D) werde sollen

  6. What is the ich form of sollen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?

    • A) solltet
    • B) sollte
    • C) solltest
    • D) sollten

  7. What is the er/sie/es form of sollen in the Konjunktiv I?

    • A) sollet
    • B) solle
    • C) sollest
    • D) sollen

  8. What is the ich form of sollen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

    • A) hatte gesollt
    • B) hattest gesollt
    • C) hatten gesollt
    • D) hattet gesollt

  9. What is the past participle of sollen?

    • A) gedurft
    • B) gemocht
    • C) gesollt
    • D) gewollt

  10. What does sollen mean in English?

  • A) to like
  • B) should, to be supposed to
  • C) to want
  • D) to be allowed to

Answer key

  1. C) soll — the ich form of sollen in the Present (Präsens) is soll. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. D) sollst — the du form of sollen in the Present (Präsens) is sollst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. B) hat gesollt — the er/sie/es form of sollen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gesollt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) sollten — the wir form of sollen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is sollten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. C) wirst sollen — the du form of sollen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst sollen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. B) sollte — the ich form of sollen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is sollte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. B) solle — the er/sie/es form of sollen in the Konjunktiv I is solle. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) hatte gesollt — the ich form of sollen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gesollt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) gesollt — the past participle of sollen is gesollt. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. B) should, to be supposed to — sollen means “should, to be supposed to” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does sollen mean in English?

sollen means “should, to be supposed to”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is sollen regular or irregular?

sollen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle. The present participle is sollend and the past participle is gesollt.

How do I practise sollen every day?

Say one sentence with sollen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich soll morgen kommen.”, “Ich habe es gesollt.” and “Ich werde es sollen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for sollen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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