You already know the modal verb sollen as a way to give advice or express an obligation ("should"). However, it has a second, very common use: reporting rumors, myths, or unverified claims.
When used to report hearsay, sollen translates to "is said to," "is supposed to," or "people say that."
Using "sollen" for Hearsay
Grammatically, this subjective use of sollen works exactly like any other modal verb. The conjugated form of sollen takes the second position in the sentence, and the main action verb gets pushed to the very end in its infinitive form.
Just like in standard statements, the subject can swap places with other information (like time or location) as long as the conjugated sollen stays firmly in position two:
Subordinate Clauses
When you use sollen to report a rumor inside a subordinate clause (such as one starting with dass), standard subordinate word order rules apply. The conjugated verb moves all the way to the end of the clause, landing immediately after the infinitive verb.
Expressing "Supposedly" with "angeblich"
Another common way to report unverified information is with the adverb angeblich (supposedly or allegedly).
When using angeblich, you do not need a modal verb. You simply use standard sentence structure and place the adverb inside the clause to cast doubt on the claim:
