Class Four

I’m so amazed at how well this class is put together. So many interesting people from so many places, yet every single person in this class is like-minded. Learning German is obviously our common goal, but there’s something else. I don’t know what it is, but it’s a comfortable feeling. You know the saying; it takes a village to raise a child. I think this class is slowly becoming the village that teaches German.

Today’s interesting lesson is the use of the verbs sollen and wollen. Mit sollen gibt man wieder, was man gehört oder gelesen hat. Mit wollen gibt man wieder, was jemand von sich selbst behauptet.

In English: Use the word sollen when you are repeating what you’ve heard or read. Use the word wollen when you repeat what you claim about yourself.

The rule seems easy enough, but I don’t usually use the words sollen and wollen in this context. I will need to practice. A lot!