Reported speech with Konjunktiv I

In brief

Konjunktiv I lets you report what someone says without presenting it as your own claim. It is especially common in news reports and formal writing. In everyday conversation, German often uses the indicative instead, so an indicative report is not automatically wrong.

Form

For most verbs, form the present Konjunktiv I from the infinitive stem: er komm-e, er hab-e; sein has the special form er sei. To report a completed action, use habe or sei plus the past participle: er habe bezahlt, er sei gegangen. If a Konjunktiv I form looks identical to the indicative, Konjunktiv II can make the report clear: sie hätten instead of sie haben.

Usage

• Use Konjunktiv I to attribute a statement to its speaker, especially in formal reports.
• A reported statement can follow a comma without dass; with dass, the conjugated verb goes to the end.
• Keep the time reference clear: use habe or sei plus a past participle for an earlier event.

Examples

• Lena sagt, sie sei krank. — Lena says she is ill.
• Tom erklärt, er habe die Rechnung schon bezahlt. — Tom explains that he has already paid the bill.
• Die Kollegen sagen, sie hätten heute keine Zeit. — The colleagues say they don’t have time today.

Common mistake

❌ Er sagt, er habe gestern gegangen.

✅ Er sagt, er sei gestern gegangen.

For a completed action with gehen, reported speech needs Konjunktiv I of sein (sei) plus gegangen, not habe.

Remember

Konjunktiv I marks someone else’s statement; it does not confirm whether the statement is true.