at skulle

skal

skulle

har skullet

Cases

Examples

Comments

Plans

Jeg skal (rejse) til Tyskland i næste uge.

— I am going to Germany next week.

This is one of the cases where the modified verb is optional.

Der skal bygges noget stort her.

— Something big is going to be built here.

Here the modified verb is not omitted because it’s not related to a direction or place.

Hvad skal du?

— What are you up to?

For instance when you see someone leaving, and you want to know why. Here the modified verb is omitted too.

Jeg skal af her.

— I am getting off here.

For instance in a bus/train. It would be “Jeg stal stå af her”, but “stå” is omitted.

Jeg skal til at lave kaffe

— I am about to make coffee.

Obs: “til at” is somewhat idiomatic here. Some people learning Danish may interpret it as “going to a place to do X” because “skal til” alone means going to a place. But “skal til at” just means being about to doing something—no physical destination involved.

Hvor skal du hen?

— Where are you going?

Here gå is always omitted. But if it’s “Hvor skal vi gå ken i dag”, it’s left.

Skal du med?

— Are you coming along?

This is used to ask about participation. It’s an ellipsis from “Skal du komme med os/mig?”

Hvad skal du have med?

— What are you bringing?

Social and moral obligations

Du skal komme snart.

— You must come soon.

Jeg skal til møde nu.

— I am going to a meeting now.

Originally, it would be “skal gå”, but in this particular example, “gå” is most often omitted/implied. However, it wouldn’t be omitted in “Jeg skal gå nu”.

In the provided English translation, the sense of obligation is kinda subtle. To emphasise the urgency in Danish in spoken language, you could stress the word skal. In written language, you could go for “Jeg er nødt til at gå til møde”.

Physical needs

Jeg skal tisse

— I have to pee.

Jeg skal ud på badeværelset.

— I have to go to the bathroom.

“Gå” in “skal gå ud” is omitted. In general this is the case with directions (ud, hjem, op, ned, hen…).

Note: we use “ud” for the bathroom (badeværelse), the kitchen (køkken), the entrance (entré) and the utility room (bryggers), even if they are inside home.

Orders

or instructions

Du skal følge reglerne

— You must follow the rules.

Du skal ikke gøre det

— You are not allowed to do it.

Først skal du (dreje) til højre.

— First, turn to the right.

Since it’s a direction, the modified verb is optional.

Predictions or promises

Du skal komme til at fortryde dit valg.

— You will regret your decision.

Jeg skal nok klare det.

— I will take care of it.

Jeg skal nok lave kaffen.

— I will make the coffee, I promise.

Jeg skal nok sende hjemmearbejde til dig senere i dag.

— I’ll send you the homework today, I promise.

Det skal nok gå.

— It’s (probably) going to be all right.

One could also say “Du kommer til at fortryde dit valg.” In this case, it’s skal that may be omitted.

On its own nok means “probably” or “enough”, but when combined with skal, it emphasises the prediction/promise aspect.

Remember: predictions and promises may be wrong!

Regrets (past)

Jeg skulle have spist sundere.

— I should have eaten more healthily.

Jeg skulle ikke have drukket så meget kaffe.

— I shouldn’t have drunk so much coffee.

Expectations

Det skulle vel nok være her. — It should probably be here.

Only in past tense “skulle” and usually with something attached such as “vel nok”, “efter sigende”, “jo”.

Possible hypotheses

Det skulle være et godt udfald.

— It would be a good outcome.

These hypotheses are placed in the future, so they can still happen.

Counterfactual hypotheses

Jeg skulle have sagt noget. — I should have said something.

“What if this had happened differently?”

Suggestions

Skal vi have en kop kaffe?

Both mean: “Should we have a cup of coffee?” The ikke here is rhetorical.

Skal vi ikke have en kop kaffe?