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Year 10
Edexcel

Hitzefrei: 'müssen' vs 'sollen', 'sollen' vs 'sollte'

I can use 'müssen' and 'sollen' to discuss necessities and obligations.

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New
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Year 10
Edexcel

Hitzefrei: 'müssen' vs 'sollen', 'sollen' vs 'sollte'

I can use 'müssen' and 'sollen' to discuss necessities and obligations.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Modal verbs express necessity, possibility, expectation or obligation and are used with a 2nd verb in the infinitive.
  2. 'Müssen' means ‘to have to, must’ and expresses necessity.
  3. 'Sollen' translates as ‘should’ and conveys strong obligation or command but also expresses probability.
  4. 'Sollte' expresses a softer style of obligation and may be translated as ‘ought to’.

Keywords

  • Modal verb - verb of necessity, possibility, expectation or obligation used with a 2nd verb in the infinitive

  • Müssen - modal verb meaning 'to have to', 'must'

  • Sollen - modal verb meaning 'should', 'be supposed to', 'ought to'

  • Sollte - form of 'sollen' expressing obligation in a softer, more polite way

Common misconception

In German, you always use 'müssen' to say what you have to do.

The verb 'sollen' is another way of expressing an obligation, something you have to do. It has several uses, including strong commands (you should ring the doctor straightaway), which are similar to the 'have to, must' meaning of 'müssen'.


To help you plan your year 10 german lesson on: Hitzefrei: 'müssen' vs 'sollen', 'sollen' vs 'sollte', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Learning Cycle 3 ('sollen' vs 'sollte') is aimed at Higher students. The text in Learning Cycle 4 could also be translated into English for extra consolidation. Students could also write and learn their own example sentences to help distinguish modal verb meanings.
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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:zahlen,to pay, paying
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to pay, paying

Correct Answer:Freizeit,free time
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free time

Correct Answer:Glas,glass
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glass

Correct Answer:Eis,ice, ice cream
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ice, ice cream

Correct Answer:Flasche,bottle
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bottle

Correct Answer:Laden,shop
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shop

Q2.
Match the following nouns to the correct genders.
Correct Answer:Zuschauer,masculine singular and plural
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masculine singular and plural

Correct Answer:System,neuter
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neuter

Correct Answer:Linie, Ordnung,feminine singular
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feminine singular

Correct Answer:Ferien,plural
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plural

Q3.
Which modal verb does not change its vowel in any present tense forms?
dürfen
können
Correct answer: sollen
mögen
wollen
Q4.
Modal verbs usually occur with a verb in the form at the end of the sentence.
Correct Answer: infinitive
Q5.
Which of these modal verb sentences are grammatically correct?
Correct answer: Kannst du morgen ins Kino gehen?
Correct answer: Er muss seine Cousine besuchen.
Man soll seine Kenntnisse.
Ich darf essen keine Nüsse.
Correct answer: Mögt ihr Wasser trinken?
Q6.
Wir __________ (must) morgen einkaufen gehen! Du __________ (want) am Fest teilnehmen, aber man __________ (is allowed to) keine Jeanshose tragen - __________ (should) ich dir neue Kleidung kaufen?
1 - müssen
2 - willst
3 - darf
4 - soll

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the English and German.
Correct Answer:alone,allein, alleine
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allein, alleine

Correct Answer:outside,draußen
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draußen

Correct Answer:perhaps, maybe,vielleicht
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vielleicht

Correct Answer:individual, single, separately,einzeln
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einzeln

Correct Answer:everywhere,überall
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überall

Q2.
Match the modal verbs to their English meanings.
Correct Answer:dürfen,to be allowed to, may
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to be allowed to, may

Correct Answer:sollen,should, ought to, be supposed to
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should, ought to, be supposed to

Correct Answer:wollen,to want to
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to want to

Correct Answer:müssen,to have to , must
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to have to , must

Correct Answer:können,to be able to, can
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to be able to, can

Correct Answer:mögen,to like, liking
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to like, liking

Q3.
Which of the young people below would definitely be eligible for 'Hitzefrei' in very hot weather?
Correct answer: Schüler
Correct answer: Schülerinnen
Correct answer: Grundschülerinnen
Jugendliche
die Jugend
Q4.
'Man sollte die Umwelt schützen. Man muss weniger oft Auto fahren.'. Which set of translations of the modal verbs in this sentence is correct?
should, can
ought to, are allowed to
must, should
Correct answer: ought to, must
can, like
Q5.
Which of these is not expressed by the verb 'sollen'?
obligation
Correct answer: necessity
expectation
probability
possibility
Q6.
Match the moods expressed by modal verbs with the most appropriate German sentence.
Correct Answer:obligation,Man soll immer die Wahrheit sagen.
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Man soll immer die Wahrheit sagen.

Correct Answer:expectation,Ich soll schnell nach Hause gehen, denn meine Eltern warten auf mich.
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Ich soll schnell nach Hause gehen, denn meine Eltern warten auf mich.

Correct Answer:necessity,Ich muss zum Arzt gehen, denn ich bin krank.
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Ich muss zum Arzt gehen, denn ich bin krank.

Correct Answer:probability,Morgen soll es warm und sonnig sein.
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Morgen soll es warm und sonnig sein.

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