The subjunctive of indirect speech — how German marks someone else's reported words.

• er/sie seihe/she is (sein, 3rd sg.) — the single most common Konjunktiv I form, used to report someone's wordsEr sagt, er sei krank = He says he is ill
• ich seiI am (sein, 1st sg. K1)Ich sagte, ich sei müde = I said I was tired
• du sei(e)styou are (sein, 2nd sg. K1) — both seist and seiest are correctDu sagtest, du seist krank = You said you were ill
• wir seienwe are (sein, 1st pl. K1)Sie sagten, wir seien zu spät = They said we were too late
• sie/Sie seienthey / you (formal) are (sein, 3rd pl. K1) — distinct from indicative sind, so K1 works hereEr sagt, sie seien zu Hause = He says they are at home
• Er sagt, er sei krank.reported speech with sein — "He says he is ill." The sei marks it as someone else's claimEr sagt, er sei krank = He says he is ill
• Indirekte Redeindirect / reported speech — German uses Konjunktiv I to signal you are repeating another person's words, not your ownindirekte Rede = reported speech
• er/sie habehe/she has (haben, 3rd sg. K1) — the form used in reportingSie meinte, sie habe keine Zeit = She said she had no time
• ich habeI have (haben, 1st sg. K1) — identical to the indicative, so in practice the K2 hätte is preferred (see substitution rule)Ich sagte, ich habe / hätte keine Zeit = I said I had no time
• sie haben → sie hättenthey have (haben, 3rd pl.) — K1 haben = indicative haben, so German SWITCHES to Konjunktiv II hätten. KEY substitution ruleEr sagt, sie hätten keine Zeit = He says they have no time
• Sie meinte, sie habe keine Zeit.reported speech with haben — "She said she had no time." 3rd sg. habe is a clear K1 formSie meinte, sie habe keine Zeit = She said she had no time
• er kommehe comes (kommen, 3rd sg. K1) — regular verb; the -e ending marks K1 in the 3rd person singularEr sagt, er komme morgen = He says he is coming tomorrow
• er gehehe goes (gehen, 3rd sg. K1)Sie sagt, er gehe nach Hause = She says he is going home
• er machehe does/makes (machen, 3rd sg. K1)Er sagt, er mache das später = He says he will do that later
• er sagehe says (sagen, 3rd sg. K1)Man sagt, er sage immer die Wahrheit = They say he always tells the truth
• er wissehe knows (wissen, 3rd sg. K1) — irregular, note wisse not weißEr sagt, er wisse nichts = He says he knows nothing
• K1 3rd person singular: stem + -ethe form actually used in reporting — take the verb stem and add -e (komm → er komme, geh → er gehe, mach → er mache)er komme, er gehe, er mache = he comes, he goes, he does
• Er sagt, er komme morgen.reported speech with a regular verb — "He says he is coming tomorrow." komme is the 3rd sg. K1Er sagt, er komme morgen = He says he is coming tomorrow
• K1 = Indikativ → use Konjunktiv IITHE key B2 rule: when the K1 form is identical to the indicative, German substitutes Konjunktiv II so the reporting stays visiblesie kommen (K1=ind.) → sie kämen = they come (reported)
• sie kommen → sie kämenthey come (kommen, 3rd pl.) — K1 kommen = indicative kommen, so switch to Konjunktiv II kämen. SUBSTITUTION ruleEr sagt, sie kämen morgen = He says they are coming tomorrow
• sie machen → sie würden machenthey do (machen, 3rd pl.) — K1 = indicative, so use Konjunktiv II; with regular (weak) verbs the würde-form is preferred, since their Konjunktiv II (machten, no umlaut) looks identical to the Präteritum. SUBSTITUTION ruleEr sagt, sie würden das machen = He says they will do that
• ich gehe → ich ginge / würde gehen1st person K1 gehe = indicative gehe, so substitute Konjunktiv II ginge (or würde gehen). SUBSTITUTION rule applies in the 1st person tooIch sagte, ich ginge nach Hause = I said I was going home
• Der Minister erklärte, die Lage sei ernst.formal/journalistic reporting — "The minister stated the situation was serious." sei is the classic news-report K1Der Minister erklärte, die Lage sei ernst = The minister stated the situation was serious
• Die Zeitung schreibt, er habe das gesagt.journalistic reporting in the past — habe + past participle reports a completed action without endorsing itDie Zeitung schreibt, er habe das gesagt = The newspaper writes that he said that
• Warum Konjunktiv I?the speaker stays neutral — K1 reports a claim without confirming or denying it, the hallmark of journalism and formal writingKonjunktiv I = distanzierte, neutrale Wiedergabe = neutral, distanced reporting