Reported speech
die indirekte Rede (Konjunktiv I)
Indirekte Rede is German reported speech: you pass on what someone else said, usually with Konjunktiv I, to show that the words are theirs.
When you pass on what someone said, German uses Konjunktiv I to show the words belong to the speaker, not to you.
Right now: the language of newsreaders
ShortcutKonjunktiv I signals that you are passing on someone else’s words (and not vouching for them). Newspapers and news broadcasts use it constantly.
Er sagt, er sei krank.
He says he is ill.
Sie berichtet, der Präsident habe keine Zeit.
She reports that the president has no time.
In everyday speech, Er sagt, er ist krank. is perfectly correct. But in formal language or in writing, when you want to make clear that it is a report, you use sei.
English reports speech too — just differently
In English you signal a report by shifting the tense back: “I am ill” becomes “He said he was ill”. Or you hedge: “He claims he’s ill.” German does this job with a special mood, Konjunktiv I: same verb stem, a different ending, and no tense shift needed.
| Direct speech | English report | German report (Konjunktiv I) |
|---|---|---|
| “Ich bin krank.” | …says he is ill / said he was ill | Er sagt, er sei krank. |
| “Ich habe keine Zeit.” | …says she has no time | Sie sagt, sie habe keine Zeit. |
| “Ich komme später.” | …says he will come later | Er sagt, er komme später. |
Just like English “says that”, German can add dass: Er sagt, dass er krank sei.
Table: learn three verbs, the rest is easy
You don’t have to memorise every verb for Konjunktiv I. About 90 percent of the time you only need three: sein, haben and werden.
| Verb | Konjunktiv I (er/sie/es) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sein | sei | Er sagt, er sei müde. |
| haben | habe | Sie sagt, sie habe Hunger. |
| werden | werde | Er sagt, es werde regnen. |
| gehen | gehe | Er sagt, er gehe nach Hause. |
Konjunktiv I of sein: ich sei, du seiest (seist), er sei, wir seien, ihr seiet, sie seien.
The trap when you report the past
Looking for a Präteritum form in the past
When you report something someone did in the past (even if the original was Präteritum or Perfekt), you always use habe / sei + Partizip II. English backshifts to “had read”; German just uses this fixed pair.
Er sagt, er las das Buch.
You don’t say it this way in a report.
Er sagt, er habe das Buch gelesen.
The correct report.
One warning: in most cases habe or sei is enough, but if the Konjunktiv I form is identical to the present-tense form (e.g. wir/sie haben), you have to use Konjunktiv II (hätten) instead.
What you just learned
Er versprach, er ___ pünktlich kommen.
Show the answer
werde. In reported speech (Konjunktiv I), the future is formed with werden + infinitive. For er, the form is werde.
Er behauptet, er ___ den Fehler nicht gemacht.
Show the answer
habe — Reporting the past: habe + Partizip II (gemacht).
Er erzählte, dass er im Lotto gewonnen ___.
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habe — Because it is a dass-clause, the auxiliary goes to the end, and because it is a report, habe is used.
The part nobody tells you: what to do when the forms collide
If the Konjunktiv I form of a verb is exactly the same as the normal present (Präsens) form, the listener can’t tell it is a report. This clash usually happens with ich, wir and plural sie. The fix is simple: when there is a clash, use Konjunktiv II (and if Konjunktiv II is also identical to Präteritum, use würde + infinitive).
Sie sagen, sie haben keine Zeit.
It isn’t clear this is a report.
Sie sagen, sie hätten keine Zeit.
Because the forms clash, Konjunktiv II is preferred.
Build the sentence yourself
Tap the words and put them in order. This is the hardest part of German — and there are no options to pick from, you build it.
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tap the words
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tap the words
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tap the words
Know this before the test
The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.
- sein -> sei, haben -> habe
Memorise the most frequent Konjunktiv I forms.
Er sagt, sie sei nett.
Er sagt, dass er sei müde.
Er sagt, dass er müde sei.
When you use dass, the verb has to go to the very end.
Test yourself
Tap an answer — we will look at why together.
Der Präsident sagt, die Lage ernst.
The president says the situation is serious.
Er behauptet, er den Fehler nicht gemacht.
He claims he didn’t make the mistake.
Sie meint, sie morgen in den Urlaub fahren.
She thinks she will go on holiday tomorrow.
Er erzählte, dass er im Lotto gewonnen .
He told us he had won the lottery.
Die Zeitung schreibt, die Polizei den Dieb gefasst.
The newspaper writes that the police have caught the thief.
Sie sagen, sie kein Geld.
They say they have no money.
Practice done — –
To finish the topic, take the full test: score 60% and it is marked as done on your level path.
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Indirekte Rede worksheet
This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.
Related topics
Konjunktiv II
würde · wäre · hätte
Konjunktiv II is the German mood for wishes, hypotheticals and polite requests, built with würde, wäre, hätte and the modal forms (könnte, müsste).
Indirect questions
ob · wo · wann · wie
Indirect questions are questions asked in a roundabout, embedded way instead of directly: ob, wo, wann, wie.
Präteritum
war · hatte · konnte · musste
The Präteritum is the German simple past, used mostly in writing and with a handful of very common verbs: war, hatte, konnte, musste.