Konjunktiv I

Learn how to use the indirect speech in German

The subjunctive I (Konjunktiv 1) is used in the indirect speech. Indirect speech is a way of reporting something someone else said without repeating it word by word. The following examples show how the subjunctive 1 is used:

Der Filmdirektor sagt: "Ich werde den besten Film aller Zeiten drehen."

(The film director says, "I'm going to make the best film ever.")

Der Journalist berichtet: Der Filmdirektor sagte, er werde den besten Film aller Zeiten drehen.

(The journalist reports: The film director said he would make the best film of all time.)

In this case, the speaker is the film director. The journalist reports the director's statement indirectly.

It is important to mention that the subjunctive in indirect speech is only used in public reports. For example in news, newspaper articles, political speeches, etc.

Identifying the indirect speech

In order to identify an indirect speech, check if the sentence is introduced by a verb related to saying / asking / thinking or by a corresponding noun. Examples:

• Verbs: antworten (answer), äußern (express), behaupten (assert), berichten (report), denken (think), erklären (explain), fragen (ask), glauben (believe), meinen (mean), sagen (say), etc.

Der Richter antwortete, dass er den Bericht so nicht akzeptieren könne. (The judge replied that he could not accept the report like this.)

Der Minister erklärte, er sei sich der Umweltproblematik bewusst. (The minister explained that he was aware of the environmental issue.)

Nouns: die Antwort (the answer), die Aussage (the statement), die Äußerung (the utterance), die Behauptung (the assertion), die Erklärung (the explanation), die Frage (the question), etc.

Der Minister erklärte, er sei sich der Umweltproblematik bewusst. (The defense attorney's assertion was not true.)

Seine Fragen seien abgelehnt worden.(His questions were denied.)

How to form the subjunctive |

The subjunctive I is formed by verb stem + subjunctive ending:

Personen Präsens Konjuntiv I
ich fahre fahre
du fährst fahrest
er, sie, es fährt fahre
wir fähren fahren
ihr fahrt fahret
sie, Sie fahren fahren

Nowadays the subjunctive | is relatively outdated. Sometimes the subjunctive || instead of the subjunctive | is used to mark an indirect speech.

  • Only the verb sein is still common in all its subjunctive I forms:
    ich sei, du sei(e)st, er sei, wir seien, ihr seiet, sie seien
    Example:
    Er sagte, sie seien im Kino.(He said they were in the cinema.)

  • We generally only use the subjunctive I in the 3rd person singular (er/sie/es/man) with all other verbs. We only have to remove the "n" from the infinitive.
    Example:
    haben - er habe
    schreiben - er schreibe

  • In the 2nd person (du/ihr), the only difference between the subjunctive I and the indicative is that there is an "e" before the ending in the subjunctive form.
    Example:
    du träumst – du träumest
    ihr geht – du träumest

    It is common to use the subjunctive II in the second person, instead of the subjunctive I because it’s easier to tell it apart from the indicative.

  • There is no difference between the subjunctive I and the indicative in the 1st person singular (ich), as well as the 1st and 3rd person plural (wir, sie) which is why we have to use the subjunctive II in this situation.
    Example:
    „Sie gehen joggen.“ – Er sagt, sie gingen joggen. (Konjunktiv II)

This table shows when the subjunctive I and when the subjunctive II is used:

sein haben werden Modalverben andere Verben
ich sei hätte würde könne würde gehen
du sei(e)st hättest
habest		 würdest
werdest		 könntest würdest gehen
er / sie / es sei habe werde könne gehe
wir seien hätten würden könnten würden gehen
ihr sei(e)t hättet würdet könntet würdet gehen
Sie / sie seien hätten würden könnten würden gehen

Blue: Konjunktiv I - Black: Konjunktiv II

Questions in indirect speech

A direct question becomes a subordinate clause (Nebensatz) in the indirect question. In the case of yes / no questions, the conjunction "ob" (whether) introduces the indirect question:

Tom fragt Katharina: "Hast du heute Zeit?". - Nein, ich habe heute keine Zeit!

Indirekte Ja-/ Nein- Frage: Tom hat Katharina gefragt, ob sie heute Zeit hätte.

For questions with a question word like wer (who), wie (how), wo (where), was (what), warum(why), wann (when), woher (where from), etc. the same question word introduces the indirect question:

Tom fragt Katharina: "Warum hast du mich angelogen?"

Indirect W-question: Tom hat Katharina gefragt, warum sie ihn angelogen habe.

Idioms in the subjunctive

Overall, there aren't many cases in which the subjunctive I is used, but it still appears in some expressions:

Es lebe der König! (Long live the king!)

Gott sei Dank! (Thank God!)

Es sei denn… (Unless…)

Sei gegrüßt (Greetings)

Lebe wohl (Goodbye)

Komme was wolle (Come what may)