Skulle is the workhorse modal of everyday Danish. It covers obligation, fixed plans and arrangements, suggestions, and — surprisingly to English speakers — hearsay, the sense "is said to be". Its present form skal appears constantly: in jeg skal på arbejde ("I have to / am going to work"), in skal vi gå? ("shall we go?"), and in filmen skal være god ("the film is supposed to be good"). The one thing skal almost never means is the plain English "should" — that is a different word, and confusing the two is the classic learner error.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Past (datid) | Past participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| (at) skulle | skal | skulle | (har) skullet |
As with ville, the infinitive and the past tense share one spelling — skulle — while the present, skal, stands apart. Time words and context separate the two *skulle*s.
Skulle across the tenses
Skulle is a modal, so it is followed by a bare infinitive — the main verb with no at.
Present — skal + bare infinitive:
Jeg skal arbejde i weekenden.
I have to / am going to work this weekend.
Past — skulle + bare infinitive:
Vi skulle mødes klokken syv, men hun kom for sent.
We were supposed to meet at seven, but she was late.
Present perfect — har + the participle skullet:
Jeg har aldrig skullet betale for parkering her.
I have never had to pay for parking here.
The perfect stacks like the English equivalent: har skullet betale = "have had to pay" — auxiliary + modal participle + bare infinitive.
The four jobs of skulle
1. Obligation and necessity — "have to / must". Often the strongest, most external sense of the verb.
Du skal tage din medicin hver morgen.
You have to take your medicine every morning.
2. Plans, arrangements and the near future — "am going to / am supposed to". This is where skal differs most usefully from vil: skal expresses an arranged, settled plan, not a wish.
Vi skal til bryllup på lørdag.
We're going to a wedding on Saturday. (it's arranged)
Hvad skal du lave i aften?
What are you doing tonight? (lit. 'what shall you do')
Note that second example: Danish very naturally uses skal to ask about someone's plans, where English just uses the present progressive. Notice too that skal can stand with a destination and no main verb at all (skal til bryllup, skal på arbejde) — "going to" a place.
3. Suggestions — skal vi…? = "shall we…?" Inverting skal to the front makes a proposal.
Skal vi tage en kop kaffe bagefter?
Shall we grab a coffee afterwards?
4. Reportative / hearsay — "is said to / is supposed to". This use genuinely surprises English speakers. Skal can report what other people say, presenting it as second-hand information the speaker has not verified.
Filmen skal være rigtig god.
The film is supposed to be really good. (so people say)
Han skal være mangemillionær.
He's said to be a multimillionaire.
Here skal makes no claim about obligation or plans at all — it flags the whole statement as hearsay. English needs a whole phrase ("is said to be", "is supposed to be") to do what one Danish word does.
A useful extra: skal til at
skal til at + bare infinitive means "be about to / be on the point of" — an action just on the verge of starting.
Skynd dig — filmen skal til at begynde!
Hurry up — the film is about to start!
Reassurance: skal nok
A fixed phrase worth memorising whole is skal nok, which despite its parts does not mean "have to probably". It is the standard way to make a confident promise or to reassure someone — "will definitely / I promise". The little word nok turns the obligation sense into a guarantee from the speaker.
Bare rolig, jeg skal nok hente dig.
Don't worry, I'll definitely pick you up.
Det skal nok gå.
It'll be all right. (a set phrase of reassurance)
That second line — Det skal nok gå — is one of the most common comforting phrases in Danish, said to anyone facing a worry. Learn it as a unit.
A natural exchange
— Hvad skal du i aften?
— What are you up to tonight?
— Jeg skal til koncert. Den nye sanger skal være helt fantastisk.
— I'm going to a concert. The new singer is supposed to be absolutely amazing.
— Skal vi tage en øl bagefter?
— Shall we grab a beer afterwards?
Three turns, three faces of skal: an arranged plan (skal til koncert), pure hearsay (skal være fantastisk), and a suggestion (skal vi…?) — and not one of them means "should".
Common Mistakes
❌ Du skal vaske op nu. (intending: 'You should do the dishes')
Misleading — skal here means 'You have to / must', a stronger command than English 'should'.
✅ Du burde vaske op nu.
You should / ought to do the dishes now. (advice, not an order)
The headline trap: skal does not mean the gentle English "should". For advice or mild recommendation, Danish uses burde (or sometimes the past skulle). Skal is "have to / must" — a firmer obligation.
❌ Jeg skal at gå nu.
Incorrect — a modal takes a bare infinitive, no at.
✅ Jeg skal gå nu.
I have to go now.
After skal, the following verb has no at. (English drops "to" here as well: "I have to go" but "I must go".)
❌ Skal vi at spise?
Incorrect — same at error inside the suggestion.
✅ Skal vi spise?
Shall we eat?
The skal vi…? suggestion frame also takes a bare infinitive.
❌ Filmen skal at være god.
Incorrect — at intrudes; and note this is the reportative 'is supposed to be'.
✅ Filmen skal være god.
The film is supposed to be good.
Two lessons in one: no at after the modal, and skal være read as hearsay ("is said to be"), not obligation.
Key Takeaways
- Principal parts: (at) skulle → skal (present) → skulle (past) → skullet (participle). All subjects share each form.
- skal takes a bare infinitive (no at) and covers obligation, arranged plans / near future, and suggestions (skal vi…?).
- The reportative skal være = "is said / supposed to be" — second-hand information, a use English lacks in a single word.
- skal is not "should". For advice, use burde; for "be about to", use skal til at.
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- Skulle: Obligation, Plans and HearsayA2 — The modal skulle (skal/skulle/skullet) — obligation, arranged plans and future, rules, the reportative 'is said to', and hypothetical 'were to'.
- Modal Verbs: An OverviewA2 — The six core Danish modals — kunne, ville, skulle, måtte, burde, turde — their present and past forms, and the iron rule that they take a bare infinitive with no at.
- VilleA1 — The modal verb ville — volition, the future, and the everyday polite-request formula vil gerne — with full principal parts and tenses.
- MåtteA2 — The modal verb måtte — permission ('may'), obligation ('must'), and the crucial trap of må ikke ('must not', never 'needn't') — with full principal parts and tenses.
- Adding At After ModalsA1 — Danish modal verbs take a bare infinitive with no 'at' — so 'jeg vil at gå' is wrong; it's 'jeg vil gå', mirroring English 'I want to go' minus the 'to'.