4.2.1 Subjunctive I

Function and Core Idea of Subjunctive I

In German, Subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I) is the standard form for indirect or reported speech, especially in written and formal contexts, and particularly in media and official communication.

It lets the speaker or writer:

• Report what someone said
• Show distance from the statement
• Avoid clearly agreeing or disagreeing with the content

Typical context: newspapers, TV news, official reports, academic writing, and sometimes formal spoken language.

Compare:

• Direct: Er sagt: „Ich bin unschuldig.“
• Indirect (Konjunktiv I): Er sagt, er sei unschuldig.
  The reporter does not confirm that he is actually innocent, only that he says so.

You will often see Subjunctive I after reporting verbs such as:
sagen, meinen, behaupten, erklären, berichten, schreiben, hinzufügen, fragen, antworten, glauben, vermuten, versichern.

Forms of Subjunctive I: Overview

Subjunctive I exists for:

• All persons (ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie/Sie)
• All tenses except future II in practice
• Regular and irregular verbs

In modern media usage, however, it is mainly used in the present and perfect forms, and strongly for the 3rd person singular (er, sie, es) and sometimes plural.

For many verbs, only a few forms are actually used in real texts. The most important ones for media language are:

• Present Konjunktiv I of sein and haben
• Present Konjunktiv I of common verbs in 3rd person singular
• Perfect Konjunktiv I with haben/sein + Partizip II

Present Subjunctive I of “sein” and “haben”

These two verbs are extremely frequent in reported speech and often recognizable.

“sein” in Subjunctive I (Present)

Media texts most often use: er sei, sie sei, sie seien.

“haben” in Subjunctive I (Present)

Note that many Konjunktiv I forms of haben look identical to the normal present indicative. This leads to an important practical rule.

For media reading and understanding, you mostly need to recognize er habe, sie habe, and es habe.

Present Subjunctive I of Regular Verbs

The pattern for regular verbs is predictable. Example: sagen.

In practice, you see mainly:

• er/sie/es + Verbstamm + -e (er sage, er komme, er mache, er schreibe)
• sie + Verbstamm + -en where it differs clearly from the indicative

Examples from news style:

• Die Polizei berichtet, der Mann komme aus Berlin.
• Der Sprecher erklärt, es gebe keinen Grund zur Sorge.
• Die Firma teilt mit, sie plane neue Investitionen.

Forming Indirect Speech with Subjunctive I

Basic Structure

For simple present statements:

Direct:

• Er sagt: „Ich wohne in Hamburg.“

Indirect:

• Er sagt, er wohne in Hamburg.

Pattern:
[reporting verb in indicative] + [subordinate clause with Konjunktiv I]

Typical reporting verbs: sagen, erklären, berichten, mitteilen, behaupten, meinen, schreiben, hinzufügen, betonen, versichern, bestreiten.

Examples:

• Die Regierung erklärt, die Lage sei unter Kontrolle.
• Der Zeuge behauptet, er habe nichts gesehen.
• Die Expertin warnt, die Temperaturen könnten steigen.
  (Here, könnten is Konjunktiv II, used because könnten is more common than können in Konjunktiv I.)

In modern media language, the conjunction dass is sometimes omitted, especially in headlines and concise news style:

• Die Polizei teilt mit, der Fahrer sei alkoholisiert gewesen.

Person Changes in Indirect Speech

When you change direct to indirect speech, you usually adjust the person:

Direct:

• „Ich bin müde“, sagt Anna.

Indirect:

• Anna sagt, sie sei müde.

Direct:

• „Wir kommen morgen“, erklären die Gäste.

Indirect:

• Die Gäste erklären, sie kämen morgen.

Focus is on:

• pronoun shift (ich → er/sie, wir → sie)
• verb change to Konjunktiv I

Time and Tense in Subjunctive I

Present Reference

For a statement about the present, use Konjunktiv I present.

Direct:

• „Ich habe keine Zeit.“

Indirect:

• Er sagt, er habe keine Zeit.

Past Reference: Perfect with Konjunktiv I

For a completed action in the past, use:

Konjunktiv I of haben/sein + Partizip II

Examples:

• Direct: „Ich habe das Buch gelesen.“
  Indirect: Er sagt, er habe das Buch gelesen.
• Direct: „Sie ist gestern angekommen.“
  Indirect: Er berichtet, sie sei gestern angekommen.

This form appears often in news reports, especially with sein for movement and change of state verbs.

Future Reference: “werden” + Infinitive

For future reference, use Konjunktiv I of werden + infinitive.

Direct:

• „Ich werde nächste Woche fahren.“

Indirect:

• Er sagt, er werde nächste Woche fahren.

Examples from media:

• Die Firma kündigt an, sie werde neue Stellen schaffen.
• Der Bürgermeister erklärt, die Stadt werde mehr in Bildung investieren.

In practice, you will see mainly er/sie/es werde and sie werden in this function.

Subjunctive I in Media and Official Language

Why Media Use Konjunktiv I

Journalists, news agencies, and official institutions often want to:

• Quote or summarize statements quickly
• Show that the information comes from someone else
• Avoid legal responsibility for the truth of the statement

Konjunktiv I creates a formal distance.

Typical patterns in news:

• „X sagte, er sei …“ (he reportedly is …)
• „Die Polizei teilte mit, der Täter habe …“ (the suspect reportedly has …)
• „Die Regierung erklärte, die Lage sei …“ (the situation is said to be …)

These structures are neutral and do not signal agreement.

Indirect Questions and Subjunctive I

In indirect questions, German can use either indicative or Konjunktiv I. Formal and media language often prefer Konjunktiv I for distance.

Direct:

• „Was macht er jetzt?“ fragte sie.

Indirect:

• Sie fragte, was er jetzt mache.

Direct:

• „Wann kommt der Zug?“

Indirect:

• Er möchte wissen, wann der Zug komme.

The mood does not change the question type, only the attitude and style.

Contrasting with “dass” + Indicative

In everyday spoken German, indirect speech often appears with dass + indicative, especially without any intention of distancing.

• Er sagt, dass er müde ist.
• Sie meint, dass sie keine Zeit hat.

This is neutral and very common in conversation.

In media or formal texts, you will more often see:

• Er sagt, er sei müde.
• Sie meint, sie habe keine Zeit.

Both versions are grammatically correct, but the Konjunktiv I version feels more formal and more distanced.

Konjunktiv I vs. Konjunktiv II in Indirect Speech

When Konjunktiv I and Indicative Are the Same

Some Konjunktiv I forms look exactly like indicative forms. In such cases, German usually uses Konjunktiv II to keep the formal „reported speech“ feeling clear.

Example with “kommen”:

Indicative:

• sie kommen
  Konjunktiv I:
• sie kommen (identical)
  Konjunktiv II:
• sie kämen

So, in practice, you see:

• Die Zeugen berichten, sie kämen aus Frankreich.

not:

• Die Zeugen berichten, sie kommen aus Frankreich.

because that would look like plain indicative.

This is especially common in:

• 1st person plural (wir)
• 3rd person plural (sie)

You will therefore frequently meet Konjunktiv II in media texts that otherwise primarily use Konjunktiv I.

Stylistic Nuance

Konjunktiv I:

• primarily signals reported speech, formal distance.

Konjunktiv II:

• signals unreality, hypothetical situations, politeness,
• but in indirect speech, also used to avoid form identity.

Media language tends to follow a hierarchy:

1. Use Konjunktiv I if the form is clear and distinct.
2. If Konjunktiv I looks like indicative, use Konjunktiv II.
3. Only if there is still confusion, use other strategies, such as repeating the reporting clause or adding adverbials like „angeblich“, „mutmaßlich“.

Evaluative and Distancing Adverbs with Subjunctive I

In media texts, Konjunktiv I often appears together with adverbs or adverbial phrases that show the degree of distance or evaluation:

• angeblich (allegedly)
• mutmaßlich (presumably, allegedly)
• offenbar (apparently)
• anscheinend (seemingly)
• laut Polizei / laut Angaben des Sprechers (according to...)

Examples:

• Laut Polizei sei der Mann mutmaßlich bewaffnet.
• Die Regierungssprecherin erklärte, die Lage sei offenbar komplizierter als gedacht.
• Nach Angaben des Unternehmens werde der Standort angeblich nicht geschlossen.

Konjunktiv I alone already marks distance, but these adverbs strengthen or specify it.

Subjunctive I with Passive Voice in Media

Reported speech often describes actions in a neutral, agent-free way. Media therefore combine Konjunktiv I with passive.

Pattern:

• Konjunktiv I of „werden“ + Partizip II

Examples:

• Die Polizei teilt mit, der Bereich werde abgesperrt.
• Es wird berichtet, der Vertrag werde unterschrieben.

For past passive:

• Konjunktiv I of „sein“ + Partizip II
• Die Firma erklärte, die Dokumente seien geprüft worden.
• Es hieß, der Fehler sei behoben worden.

Here you see how media report actions without saying clearly who is responsible, and without confirming the truth themselves.

Recognizing Subjunctive I while Reading

When you read media texts, watch for:

1. Reporting verbs in the indicative:
   sagte, erklärte, teilte mit, berichtete, schrieb, so der Sprecher, nach Angaben von, laut Polizei, wie es heißt.
2. Unusual verb endings or forms:
• sei, habe, könne, wolle, müsse, dürfe
• komme, gehe, mache, plane
• käme, ginge (Konjunktiv II as replacement)
3. No “dass” but a that-like structure:
• Der Minister erklärte, die Situation sei ernst.
  instead of:
• Der Minister erklärte, dass die Situation ernst ist.
4. Distance adverbials:
   angeblich, mutmaßlich, offenbar, nach Angaben, laut...

Once you see this pattern, you can quickly identify that you are dealing with reported information, not facts confirmed by the writer.

Conversion Practice: Direct to Indirect (Conceptual)

Here is a short comparative overview which shows the typical change from direct to indirect speech with Konjunktiv I.

This type of transformation is central for reading and also for your own formal writing.

Summary of Core Rules

Konjunktiv I is a formally important mood in German, especially at B2 and above, and is crucial for understanding:

• newspaper articles
• news reports
• official statements
• academic summaries of other authors

To use it actively, remember:

Recognizing these typical forms is enough to understand most media uses of Subjunctive I reliably.

Vocabulary List