Breakdown of Dein Husten ist heute nicht besser. Du sollst nicht rauchen!
sein
to be
du
you (informal singular)
heute
today
nicht
not
dein
your (informal)
rauchen
to smoke
sollen
should / ought to
besser
better
der Husten
the cough
Questions & Answers about Dein Husten ist heute nicht besser. Du sollst nicht rauchen!
The English translation says 'You should not smoke,' but isn't 'should' often translated as solltest?
Yes, polite advice often uses the form solltest instead. However, using the present tense sollst here makes it a much stronger command, almost like saying 'You are not supposed to smoke!' or 'The doctor says you must not smoke!' It carries the weight of a firm rule or an external order.
Why is rauchen at the very end of the second sentence?
This is the standard word order when using a modal verb like sollen. The modal verb (sollst) takes the second position in the sentence, and the main action verb (rauchen) gets pushed to the very end in its basic dictionary form.
Is Husten a noun here? I thought it was a verb.
It is both! The word husten with a lowercase letter is the verb meaning 'to cough'. By capitalizing it and putting a possessive word like Dein (your) in front of it, it becomes the masculine noun der Husten (the cough).
Where does the word besser come from?
besser is the comparative form of gut (good). Just like in English where the word 'good' completely changes to become 'better', the German word gut completely changes to besser.
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