Learn Hardcore German: Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen. - We should plan more time for the way tomorrow.

In Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen, sollen expresses an obligation or recommendation that usually comes from someone else (a boss, a teacher, a plan, circumstances, etc.).

sollen ≈ should / are supposed to
- There is a sense of: That’s what is expected / recommended / requested.
müssen ≈ must / have to
- Stronger necessity: There is no real choice.

Compare:

Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit einplanen.
= We are supposed to / should plan more time tomorrow. (Instruction, recommendation)
Wir müssen morgen mehr Zeit einplanen.
= We must / have to plan more time tomorrow. (Stronger, more absolute necessity)

So sollen is milder and often linked to an external expectation, while müssen is stronger compulsion or necessity.

Why is it wir sollen and not wir sollten?

Both are possible, but they differ in tone:

Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen.
= Someone has decided or clearly expects this. It is a direct instruction or firm expectation in the present.
Wir sollten morgen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen.
= We should (it would be a good idea) to plan more time. This is more like giving advice or making a suggestion, not reporting a firm instruction.

Grammar point:

sollen = present tense (real, current instruction / obligation).
sollten = past subjunctive (Konjunktiv II), often used as a polite or softer version, similar to English should in advice.

Why is morgen in the second position: Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit ...? Could it go somewhere else?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: the conjugated verb (here sollen) must be in second position.

The first position is taken by wir. So the next slot (second position) must be sollen. Everything else (like morgen, mehr Zeit, für den Weg, einplanen) can be moved around more freely, as long as sollen stays second.

Some natural variants:

Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen. (neutral)
Morgen sollen wir mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen. (emphasis on tomorrow)
Wir sollen mehr Zeit für den Weg morgen einplanen. (emphasis on the time for tomorrow’s trip; a bit less common and can sound slightly clumsy)

What you cannot do in a normal main clause:

✗ Wir morgen sollen mehr Zeit ... (verb is not in second position)

Why is einplanen at the very end of the sentence?

einplanen is a separable verb: ein + planen.

In a main clause, the conjugated part goes in second position and the prefix moves to the end:

Wir planen morgen mehr Zeit ein.
Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit einplanen.
(Here the "base form" einplanen goes to the end after the modal verb sollen, which stands in second position.)

General patterns:

With a simple verb:
Wir planen morgen mehr Zeit ein.
→ planen in 2nd position, ein at the end.
With a modal verb (like sollen, müssen, können):
Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit einplanen.
→ sollen is conjugated and in 2nd position, the infinitive einplanen goes to the end.

In a subordinate clause, the whole verb phrase goes to the end:

..., weil wir morgen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen sollen.
(Here einplanen and sollen are both at the end: einplanen sollen.)

Why is it für den Weg and not something like für der Weg or für dem Weg?

The preposition für always takes the accusative case in German.

The noun Weg is masculine:

Nominative: der Weg
Accusative: den Weg

Since für requires the accusative, you must say:

für den Weg (correct)

Not:

✗ für der Weg
✗ für dem Weg

So the pattern is:
für + accusative → für den Weg, für die Straße, für das Auto, für die Leute

What does Weg mean here? Is it a physical path or the whole journey?

Weg is flexible and can mean:

A literal path or road:
- Der Weg zum Bahnhof = the way/path to the station.
The trip / journey as a route:
- Wir sollen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen.
  = We should plan more time for the way there / the journey.
  Here it refers to the whole trip, not just the physical path.

Common alternatives:

Strecke = route, distance:
- mehr Zeit für die Strecke einplanen
Fahrt = (car/train) ride:
- mehr Zeit für die Fahrt einplanen

All are possible, with slightly different nuances. Weg is very common and natural in everyday speech.

Why is it Zeit einplanen? Could I just say Zeit planen or Zeit nehmen?

These expressions are related but not identical:

Zeit einplanen
= to include / allocate time in advance in your schedule.
Very natural when talking about planning ahead:
- Wir sollen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen.
  → We should build more time for the journey into our plan.
Zeit planen
Grammatically fine, but much less common in everyday speech in this sense. It sounds a bit more abstract or technical. Native speakers much more often say einplanen here.
sich Zeit nehmen
= to take time (make time for something), focusing on your own decision in the moment:
- Wir sollten uns mehr Zeit nehmen.
  → We should take more time (not rush).

So for talking about a schedule or a plan in advance, Zeit einplanen is the most idiomatic choice.

Why is the sentence in the present tense and not using werden, like Wir werden morgen ... einplanen?

German very often uses the present tense to talk about the future, especially when there is a clear time expression like morgen:

Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen.
Literally: We should plan more time for the way tomorrow.
Meaning: It’s about the future, but present tense is enough because morgen makes the time clear.

Using werden for the future is possible, but often unnecessary unless you want to stress something special:

Wir werden morgen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen müssen.
(We will have to plan more time tomorrow.) – slightly different meaning and emphasis.

For this simple sentence about tomorrow, present + morgen is the most natural choice.

Can I move morgen to another place, like Morgen sollen wir ... or Wir sollen mehr Zeit ... morgen einplanen?

Yes, but the nuance changes slightly.

All of these are grammatically possible:

Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen.
Neutral, very natural. Tomorrow is just given as a time frame.
Morgen sollen wir mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen.
Emphasis on morgen (tomorrow), e.g. contrasting with today:
- Not today, but tomorrow we are supposed to plan more time.
Wir sollen mehr Zeit für den Weg morgen einplanen.
Grammatically okay, but less common, and it can sound slightly heavier or ambiguous:
- It can be heard as: more time for the way *tomorrow (as opposed to some other day)*.

The safest and most natural everyday version is the original:

Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen.

Is there any special pronunciation issue in this sentence, like with sollen or Weg?

A few useful tips:

sollen:
- The s at the beginning is voiced: like z in English zoo.
  → [ˈzɔlən], roughly ZOLL-en.
- The o is short, like in English pot, not like soul.
Weg:
Two common pronunciations:
- [veːk] with a long e (like English vake without the diphthong) – very common in the meaning way, path, journey.
- In some fixed phrases, it can also be short [vɛk], but here the long vowel is normal.
Zeit:
- z is pronounced like English ts: [tsaɪt] → TSITE.

Putting it together in a rough phonetic guide:
Wir sollen morgen mehr Zeit für den Weg einplanen.
≈ Veer ZOLL-en MOR-gen mehr TSITE für den VEK ein-PLAN-en (very approximate for an English ear).