Breakdown of Der Außerirdische soll nachts Menschen entführen.
der Mensch
the human, person
sollen
should / ought to
nachts
at night
der Außerirdische
the alien
entführen
to abduct
Questions & Answers about Der Außerirdische soll nachts Menschen entführen.
Why does soll mean 'is said to' here instead of 'should'?
This is the subjective use of the modal verb sollen. Instead of expressing an obligation or giving advice ('should'), it is used to report a rumor, a claim, or hearsay from someone else. It translates well to 'is said to' or 'is supposed to'.
Why does Außerirdische end with an -e? Isn't it a standard masculine noun?
It is an 'adjectival noun', meaning it is an adjective acting as a noun. Because of this, its ending changes based on standard adjective declension rules. After the definite masculine nominative article der, it takes the weak ending -e. If you used the indefinite article, it would take the strong ending: ein Außerirdischer (an alien).
Why is nachts lowercase and ending in an -s?
While die Nacht (the night) is a capitalized noun, adding an -s and making it lowercase turns it into an adverb meaning 'at night' or 'regularly during the night'. You will see this pattern with other times of day too, such as morgens (in the mornings) and abends (in the evenings).
How does the prefix in entführen affect its meaning?
The verb is made of the inseparable prefix ent- plus führen (to lead). The prefix ent- often indicates removal, separation, or taking something away. So, 'leading away' gives us the meaning 'to abduct' or 'to kidnap'.
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