Sie meinte gestern, ich solle in der Vorlesung mehr Fragen stellen.

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Breakdown of Sie meinte gestern, ich solle in der Vorlesung mehr Fragen stellen.

• ich: I
• mehr: more
• Gestern: yesterday

Questions & Answers about Sie meinte gestern, ich solle in der Vorlesung mehr Fragen stellen.

What exactly does meinte mean here? Is it just the same as sagte (“said”)?

The verb meinen literally means “to mean” or “to be of the opinion”, often also “to think” in the sense of “to be of the opinion that…”.

In sentences like this, meinen can overlap with sagen:

• Sie meinte, ich solle …
  ≈ “She said (that) I should …”
  but also carries a nuance of
  “She was of the opinion that I should …”

Nuance compared with sagen:

• sagen is neutral: just “to say”.
• meinen often suggests:
  • giving an opinion,
  • a suggestion,
  • or something a bit less formal / less blunt than a direct command.

So in English, depending on context, you might translate it as:

• “She said yesterday that I should ask more questions in the lecture.”
• “She thought / felt / was of the opinion yesterday that I should ask more questions in the lecture.”

Why is it meinte (simple past) and not hat gemeint (present perfect)?