Reported speech / subjunctive I (er sagt, er sei / habe)
Indirekte Rede / Konjunktiv I (er sagt, er sei / habe)
Reported speech in formal German uses forms like 'sei' and 'habe'.
Structure
Einleitung (er sagt, ...) + Konjunktiv I: sei, habe, könne (3. Person Singular)
introduction (er sagt, ...) + subjunctive I: sei, habe, könne (3rd person singular)
Details
- Part of Speech
- Verb
- Register
- Standard
Explanation
In formal and written German, reported speech (indirect speech) often uses Konjunktiv I. It signals that you are repeating someone else's words without taking responsibility for whether they are true.
It is formed from the stem + -I endings. At B1 the form you really need is the 3rd person singular, which is clearly different from the :
- sein → er sei**
- haben → er habe**
- können → er könne**
- wollen → er wolle**
Examples:
- Er sagt, er sei krank. - He says he is ill.
- Sie behauptet, sie habe keine Zeit. - She claims she has no time.
- Der Minister erklärte, er könne nichts dazu sagen. - The minister stated that he could not comment.
Common mistakes. When the form looks identical to the (this happens especially in the : sie haben = = ), you switch to Konjunktiv II instead: Sie sagen, sie hätten keine Zeit. In everyday spoken German people often avoid the altogether and use dass + (Er sagt, dass er krank ist), but for exams and formal texts the is expected.
About Reported speech / subjunctive I (er sagt, er sei / habe)
Reported speech in formal German uses forms like 'sei' and 'habe'.
After a reporting , formal German uses , most visibly in the 3rd person : sei, habe, könne, wolle. It signals that the words are reported, not the speaker's own.
Die indirekte Rede verwendet in formeller Sprache den (sei, habe).
Caution
At B1 you mainly need the 3rd-person singular: 'er sei', 'er habe', 'er könne'. If Konjunktiv I looks like the indicative (plural), switch to Konjunktiv II ('sie hätten').