sollen simple past (Präteritum) conjugation
Sollen (to be supposed to, should) in the simple past (Präteritum): sollte, solltest, sollte, sollten, solltet, sollten.
Präteritum Simple past
| ich | |
|---|---|
| du | |
| er/sie/es | |
| wir | |
| ihr | |
| sie/Sie |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the simple past (Präteritum)
The Präteritum is the past tense of written narrative. In speech it is used mainly for sein, haben, werden and the modal verbs; other verbs usually take the Perfekt.
How it is formed
Weak verbs add te, test, te, ten, tet, ten to the stem (machte). Strong verbs change the stem vowel and take no ending in ich and er/sie/es (ging, sah, kam).
Sollen is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: German past tense: Perfekt vs Präteritum
Sollen in a sentence
- Ich soll früh aufstehen.I am supposed to get up early.
- Du solltest mehr schlafen.You should sleep more.
Modal verb; no stem change in present tense; regular weak Präteritum.
FAQ
What is the simple past (Präteritum) of sollen?
Sollen in the German simple past (Präteritum): ich sollte, du solltest, er/sie/es sollte, wir sollten, ihr solltet, sie/Sie sollten.
Is sollen irregular in the simple past (Präteritum)?
No. In the simple past (Präteritum) sollen takes the regular endings for its verb class, so sollte follows the same pattern as any regular verb.
When do you use the German simple past (Präteritum)?
The Präteritum is the past tense of written narrative. In speech it is used mainly for sein, haben, werden and the modal verbs; other verbs usually take the Perfekt.
How is the simple past (Präteritum) formed?
Weak verbs add te, test, te, ten, tet, ten to the stem (machte). Strong verbs change the stem vowel and take no ending in ich and er/sie/es (ging, sah, kam).
Full sollen conjugation, all tenses →
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