the german should

Another interesting verb in German:

Ich soll vs Ich solte (points out motivation)

“Ich soll”
Implies someone has told me I should.. (motivation from others)

“Ich sollte”
Implies I should because I must (and is a motivation from the self)

“Ich sollte mich gesunde ernähren”.
I should eat healthier (because I know this to be true)

“Ich soll mit dem Rauchen aufhören” (someone who has been told to stop smoking but doesn’t believe it or want to)
“Ich sollte mit dem Rauchen aufhören” (someone who believes they should stop smoking)

The tricky thing then is to also understand when to use müssen (must) and dürfen (may).

“Ich darf nicht mehr eis essen”
(I am not allowed to eat more ice cream = Someone has told me I can’t eat more ice cream)
(dürfen is used more for warnings, restrictions, signage etc.)

“Ich muss nicht in die Schule gehen”
(I must not go in the school = I don’t have to go to school)

Note that müssen = must and the German opposite is ‘don’t have to’. But the English ‘must’ = ‘have to’ and the opposite is ‘must not’ = ‘must not do xyz’ (which is actually still a must but the verb is not negated, only the object/subject to which the verb is with).

So much learning and practice ahead!