sollten

Sollten is the inflected form of the German modal verb sollen used in the past tense (Präteritum) and in the subjunctive mood (Konjunktiv II). It is especially common for the first-person plural and the third-person plural forms, where it serves as both the simple past and the subjunctive in everyday language. The present tense of sollen uses forms such as ich soll, du sollst, er soll, wir sollen, ihr sollt, sie sollen; shown as sollten appears in contexts referring to past events or hypothetical/concessive statements.

Conjugation and forms

- Present tense (indicative): ich soll, du sollst, er/sie/es soll, wir sollen, ihr sollt, Sie sollen.

- Simple past (Präteritum): ich sollte, du solltest, er/sie/es sollte, wir sollten, ihr solltet, sie/Sie sollten.

- Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II), used for advice, hypothetical situations, or polite requests: ich sollte, du solltest, er/sie/es sollte, wir sollten, ihr solltet, sie/Sie sollten. In many contexts, diese Form is identical to the Präteritum, so der Sinn ergibt sich aus dem Kontext.

- Partizip II: gesollt (rarely used in modern speech except in fixed constructions; most perfect forms are built with the main verb in infinitive: "Ich habe es tun sollen").

Usage

Sollten expresses either past action (narrative past) or a recommendation, conditional, or hypothetical scenario. It is common in advice: Du solltest mehr Wasser trinken. It can also appear in indirect speech: Er sagte, er solle früher kommen (Konjunktiv I). In contrast to müssen, das Wort denotes external expectation or normative obligation rather than an absolute necessity. Compared with wollen, sollen communicates obligation or external guidance rather than the speaker’s own desire.

Notes

Because sollten often stands where German speakers mean a suggestion or conditional, its meaning hinges on context and mood (past vs. subjunctive).