der Euro
der Vorschlag

The idea

“Wollen wir …?” with an infinitive at the end is a common way to propose a joint action; “Sollen wir …?” is close but asks more what is expected. “Höchstens” means at most; “beisteuern” (to contribute) is separable but stays whole after würde. “Erst, wenn …” means only once: the main clause comes first, the wenn-clause sends the auxiliary to the end: “wenn alle geantwortet haben”.

Other ways to say it

“Sollen wir zusammenlegen und einen Wäscheständer kaufen?” – “Zusammenlegen” means to pool money; casual and common.

“Ich schlage vor, dass wir die Kosten durch drei teilen.” – Neutral proposal about splitting costs equally.

Examples

  • Wollen wir gemeinsam einen Wäscheständer kaufen?Shall we buy a drying rack together?
  • Ich würde höchstens zwanzig Euro beisteuern.I would contribute at most twenty euros.
  • Dann suchen wir etwas in diesem Preisrahmen.Then we will look for something in this price range.
  • Wer schaut sich die Angebote an?Who will look at the offers?
  • Ich schicke euch zwei passende Vorschläge.I will send you two suitable suggestions.
  • Wir entscheiden erst, wenn alle geantwortet haben.We will only decide once everyone has replied.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic German voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

“Wir entscheiden erst, wenn alle haben geantwortet.” → “Wir entscheiden erst, wenn alle geantwortet haben.”: In a wenn-clause the conjugated auxiliary haben goes to the very end, after the participle geantwortet.

Try it yourself

  1. Translate into German: Shall we buy a drying rack together?

    Show answer or example answer

    Wollen wir gemeinsam einen Wäscheständer kaufen?

    “Wollen wir” opens a suggestion; “gemeinsam” says together, the object “einen Wäscheständer” is accusative, and “kaufen” comes last.

  2. Put the words in order: Dann / diesem / etwas / in / Preisrahmen / suchen / wir

    Show answer or example answer

    Dann suchen wir etwas in diesem Preisrahmen.

    “Dann” is first, “suchen” second; “etwas in diesem Preisrahmen” means something within this budget, with in plus dative.

  3. Write this sentence in German: We will only decide once everyone has replied.

    Show answer or example answer

    Wir entscheiden erst, wenn alle geantwortet haben.

    “Erst” limits the decision in time; the wenn-clause ends with the perfect “geantwortet haben”.

Use it today

Write a flat-chat message proposing a shared purchase, naming the item, a maximum price per person and a deadline for replies.