Have you ever given yourself a quick trim at 2 AM, only to wake up wishing you could turn back time? When talking about things we should have done differently, German uses a specific structure: hätte + double infinitive.
The Double Infinitive
To express a past regret like "I should have...", start with the conjugated past subjunctive of haben (hätte). Instead of a past participle at the end of the sentence, use two infinitives: your main action verb followed by the modal verb (like sollen).
| I should not have changed my hairstyle. | Ich hätte meine Frisur nicht ändern sollen. |
| I should not have cut the bangs myself. | Ich hätte den Pony nicht selbst schneiden sollen. |
Using Other Modal Verbs
You can use this same pattern with other modal verbs to express different shades of missed opportunities:
- können: could have
- müssen: had to / absolutely should have
- dürfen: with nicht, meaning "should not have been allowed to"
| You could have saved my hairstyle. | Du hättest meine Frisur retten können. |
| The bangs are crooked. I should have stopped. | Der Pony ist schief. Ich hätte aufhören müssen. |
| We should not have been so careless. | Wir hätten nicht so leichtsinnig sein dürfen. |
Changing the Subject
Conjugate haben to match the subject to point out what others should have done (du hättest, wir hätten, sie hätte). The double infinitive at the end of the sentence never changes.
| You were careless. You should have warned me. | Du warst leichtsinnig. Du hättest mich warnen sollen. |
| Everything is crooked. You should have taken the comb. | Alles ist schief. Du hättest den Kamm nehmen sollen. |
| She will regret the bald head. She should have kept the braid. | Sie wird die Glatze bedauern. Sie hätte den Zopf behalten sollen. |