"Könnten wir heute Abend alle hier schlafen?"

Translation: Could we all sleep here tonight?

[Grafiker]

why is it "könnten" and not "können"?

[kyky]

"könnten" is conjunctive mood; it is a little more indirect

[padsterpat]

I believe it's past tense (Could we?) rather than present tense (can we?)
http://german.about.com/library/blmodalv01.htm

[kyky]

To be exact, it is subjunctive past. In English you cannot tell the difference of indicative past and subjunctive past. An exception is "be": "I wish, I were rich." http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/be#English

[arisplus]

Can you explain what indicative and subjunctive are?

[kyky]

Indicative is the standard grammatical mood that expresses things taht are or are not acutally the case. "I left/ have left/ had left/leave /will leave... home." The subjunctive mood expresses unreal things. "I would leave/ would have left... home."
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/subjunctive_mood

[filiwian]

Can someone explain the word order of this please. I get it's verb (konnten) subject (wir) and then its ends with a verb when it's a question. I don't get the rest .

[cloud_eight]

I believe it is simply following the 'Time-Manner-Place' sequence. After taking out what you are familiar with (Könnten wir... schlafen?), we are left with the description/specifics/conditions of how exactly we are asking to sleep, and they follow an order based on what they are specifying. Going along with the T-M-P sequence, heute Abend is the Time at which we are asking to sleep, alle is the Manner in which we wish to sleep, and hier is the Place. Not being a native speaker, I may have left out some key details, so any native is of course welcome to add on to or correct what I wrote.

[sokplaya]

to me it just seems that the alle is out of place. alle is not a manner in which we wish to sleep, alle describes us. It seems to me that the most logical form of this sentence would be "Könnten wir alle heute Abend hier schlafen?"

[ellen.k]

I try to think of "all" as "all of us" as opposed to just "some of us", then the manner in which we wish to sleep = alle.

[sokplaya]

no, my point was that a manner in which we do something (sleeping in this case) is described with an adverb. Alle is not an adverb, therefore alle does not describe a manner in which we sleep.

[ellen.k]

All can be used as an adverb according to the second definition http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/all

[glaucodarocha]

It's simple. Just like Yoda thinking you have. :P

[pnehls]

why is can not right if it is the first translation offered for Konnten?

[Levi]

@pnehls : 'Can' is accepted now here. (Can we all sleep here tonight?)

[tozemanel]

Please, I understand that there is a difference between konnten and könnten, and that this last one is the so called "subjunktive form"!

I won't a ask for anyone to explain, but can someone put a link where it is deeply explained? I have tried but I don't even know exactly what I am looking for.

Thank you.

[Levi]

@tozemanel : http://german.about.com/od/grammar/a/konjunktivI.htm

[parixnet]

can we sleep here this evening?

[Konrad-Michal]

You missed "alle". Should be "all of us"

[Konrad-Michal]

Why was "May all of us sleep here tonight" not accepted by Duo?

[getsidgo]

Why is "Could we all sleep here today evening?" wrong?

[alaladinjersey]

today evening isn't an English expression, you have to use this evening.

[AliN11__]

Why "wir" and "alle" are not together in the sentence?

[julieford13]

If the sentence is 'Could we all sleep here tonight? the German should be-'Könnten wir heute NACHT alle hier schlafen?' Abend' is today, is it not?