Indirect speech in German
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Sign up for freeThe indirect speech is used in order to report what somebody said. The indirect speech consist of a introduction and a dependent clause in the subjunctive I. There are some typical introductions like:
- Sie sagt(e), sie habe die Aufgabe alleine gelöst. (She said, she had solved all tasks alone)
- Sie meint(e), sie habe den Kuchen nicht alleine gegessen. (She said, she didn't eat the cake alone)
- Sie behauptet(e), dass der Regen braun gewesen sei. (She claimed, that the rain was brown)
- Er erklärt(e), dass alle Gespenster echt seien. (He explained, that all ghosts would be real)
- Er erzählt(e), dass er die beste Note habe. (He told, that he had the best grades)
Lesson outline
Hide- 1.Three steps how to form the direct speech into the indirect speech:
- 1.1.Change the pronoun, because you are talking about somebody
- 1.2.Use the subjunctive form of the verb
- 1.3.Sometimes you have to change the time and the place
- 2.Indirect speech within questions
- 3.Usage of subjunctive II in the indirect speech
- 4.Exercises
- 4.1.Exercise of indirect speech (Subjunctive II)
- 4.2.Exercise of indirect speech (Subjunctive I)
Three steps how to form the direct speech into the indirect speech:
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1. Change the pronoun, because you are talking about somebody
- Sie sagt: „Ich habe alle Aufgaben alleine gelöst“ (direct speech) - She said: "I solved all tasks alone"
- Sie sagt, sie habe die Aufgaben alleine gelöst. (indirect speech) - She said, she had solved all tasks alone
2. Use the subjunctive form of the verb
- Sie sagt: „Er hat alle Aufgaben alleine gelöst“ (direct speech) - She said: "He solved all tasks alone"
- Sie sagt, er habe die Aufgaben alleine gelöst. (indirect speech) - She said, that he had solved all tasks alone
3. Sometimes you have to change the time and the place
- Sie sagt: „Sie sind heute hier gewesen“ (direct speech) - She said: "They were here today"
- Sie sagt, sie seien gestern dort gewesen. (indirect speech) - She said, they have been there yesterday
We can build the indirect speech with or without a conjunction. But pay attention to the structure:
- Sie sagt, er habe die Aufgaben alleine gelöst. (direct speech) - She says, he had solved the taks alone
- Sie sagt, dass er alle Aufgaben alleine gelöst habe. (indirect speech) - She said, that he had solved all tasks alone
Indirect speech within questions
We form the indirect speech as a question by including the question word (for example "wie")
- Sie fragt: „Wie hat es geschmeckt?“ (direct speech) - She asks: "How did it taste?"
- Sie fragt, wie es geschmeckt habe. (indirect speech) - She asks, how it has tasted
Exactly, as in the topic of the indirect questions, we are also allowed to use the word "ob" at the position of the question word.
- Sie fragt: „Hat es geschmeckt?“ (direct speech) - She asks: "Did it taste good?"
- Sie fragt, ob es geschmeckt habe. (indirect speech) - She asks, whether it tasted good
Usage of subjunctive II in the indirect speech
In general we use the subjunctive I to form the indirect speech. But what is if the subjunctive I is identical to the indicative form of a verb? In this case we use the subjunctive II in order to differentiate the indirect speech from the direct speech.
- Sie sagte: „Sie haben viel zu Abend gegessen" (direct speech) - She said: "They ate too much for dinner"
- Sie sagte, sie haben viel zu Abend gegessen. (indirect speech with subjunctive I) - She said, they ate too much for dinner
- Sie sagte, sie hätten viel zu Abend gegessen. (indirect speech with subjunctive II) - She said, they had been eating too much for dinner
If the subjunctive II is still not different from the indicative, then you have to use "würde".
- Sie sagte: „Sie gehen viel“ - She said: "They walk a lot"
- Sie sagte, sie gingen viel. - She said, they walked a lot
- Sie sagte, sie würden viel gehen. - She said, they would walk a lot
You have learned about the indirect speech in German. Go on and deepen you knowledge with our interactive exercises.
Exercises
Exercise of indirect speech (Subjunctive II)
Rewrite the follwoing direct statement, staring with Sie sagte and using the appropriate Subjunctive II form.
Recap:
- Sie sagte, sie hätten viel zu Abend gegessen. (indrect speech with subjunctive II) - (She said, they had been eating too much for dinner)
1. "Vater ist krank gewesen. " - Sie sagte, Vater krank .
("The father has been sick" - She said, that the father had been sick)
2. "Mutter hatte Geld." - Sie sagte, Mutter Geld .
("The mother had money" - She said, the mother has had money)
3. "Mara hat keine Angst." - Sie sagte, Mara Angst.
("Mara has no fear" - She said, Mara would have no fear)
4. "Sie waren zusammen." - Sie sagte, sie zusammen .
("They were together" - She said, they would have been together)
5. "Er hatte Sie geliebt." - Sie sagte, er sie .
("He has loved her" - She said, he would have loved her)
6. "Laura war nach Hamburg gereist." - Sie sagte, Laura nach Hamburg .
("Laura has traveled to Hamburg" - She said, Laura would have traveld to Hamburg)
7. "Tante Hilde wohnt in Hamburg." - Sie sagte, Tante Hilde in Hamburg .
("Aunt Hilde lives in Hamburg" - She said, aunt Hilde would have lived in Hamburg)
8. "Wir hatten dich besucht." Sie sagte, wir dich .
("We have visited you" - She said, we would have visited you)
9. "Der Tisch war aufgebaut." Sie sagte, der Tisch .
("The table was built" - She said, the table would have been built)
10. "Die Wohnung war gestrichen." Sie sagte, die Wohnung .
("The apartment was painted" - She said, the apartmend would be painted)
Exercise of indirect speech (Subjunctive I)
Rewrite each of the following direct statements as and indirect statement, starting with Er hat gesagt and using the appropriate subjunctive I form.
Recap:
- Sie sagt, sie habe die Aufgaben alleine gelöst. (indirect speech) - (She said, she had solved all tasks alone)
1. "Vater ist krank gewesen. " - Er hat gesagt, Vater krank .
("The father was sick" - He said, the father had been sick)
2. "Mutter hatte Geld." - Er hat gesagt, Mutter Geld .
("Mother had money" - He said, mother has had money)
3. "Mara hat keine Angst." - Er hat gesagt, Mara Angst.
("Mara has no fear" - He said, Mara has had no fear)
4. "Sie waren zusammen." - Er hat gesagt, sie zusammen .
("They were together" - He said, they had been together)
5. "Er hatte Sie geliebt." - Er hat gesagt, er sie .
("He loved her" - He said, he has loved her)
6. "Laura war nach Hamburg gereist." - Er hat gesagt, Laura nach Hamburg .
("Laura traveled to Hamburg" - He said, Laura has traveled to Hamburg)
7. "Tante Hilde wohnt in Hamburg." - Er hat gesagt, Tante Hilde in Hamburg .
("Aunt Hilde lives in Hamburg" - He said, aunt Hilde lives in Hamburg)
8. "Wir hatten dich besucht. " Er hat gesagt, wir dich .
("We have visited you" - He said, we have visited you)
This not a good example of the usage of subjunctive I. We have learned that in this cases we use the subjunctive II to identify the indirect speech
Use the subjunctive II
Er hat gesagt, wir dich . (He said, we would have visited you)
9. "Der Tisch war aufgebaut." Er hat gesagt, der Tisch .
("The table was built" - He said, the table were built)
10. "Die Wohnung war gestrichen." Er hat gesagt, die Wohnung .
("The apartment was painted" - He said, the apartmend was painted)
Exercises
Exercise of indirect speech (Subjunctive II)
Rewrite the follwoing direct statement, staring with Sie sagte and using the appropriate Subjunctive II form.
Recap:
- Sie sagte, sie hätten viel zu Abend gegessen. (indrect speech with subjunctive II) - (She said, they had been eating too much for dinner)
1. "Vater ist krank gewesen. " - Sie sagte, Vater krank .
("The father has been sick" - She said, that the father had been sick)
2. "Mutter hatte Geld." - Sie sagte, Mutter Geld .
("The mother had money" - She said, the mother has had money)
3. "Mara hat keine Angst." - Sie sagte, Mara Angst.
("Mara has no fear" - She said, Mara would have no fear)
4. "Sie waren zusammen." - Sie sagte, sie zusammen .
("They were together" - She said, they would have been together)
5. "Er hatte Sie geliebt." - Sie sagte, er sie .
("He has loved her" - She said, he would have loved her)
6. "Laura war nach Hamburg gereist." - Sie sagte, Laura nach Hamburg .
("Laura has traveled to Hamburg" - She said, Laura would have traveld to Hamburg)
7. "Tante Hilde wohnt in Hamburg." - Sie sagte, Tante Hilde in Hamburg .
("Aunt Hilde lives in Hamburg" - She said, aunt Hilde would have lived in Hamburg)
8. "Wir hatten dich besucht." Sie sagte, wir dich .
("We have visited you" - She said, we would have visited you)
9. "Der Tisch war aufgebaut." Sie sagte, der Tisch .
("The table was built" - She said, the table would have been built)
10. "Die Wohnung war gestrichen." Sie sagte, die Wohnung .
("The apartment was painted" - She said, the apartmend would be painted)
Exercise of indirect speech (Subjunctive I)
Rewrite each of the following direct statements as and indirect statement, starting with Er hat gesagt and using the appropriate subjunctive I form.
Recap:
- Sie sagt, sie habe die Aufgaben alleine gelöst. (indirect speech) - (She said, she had solved all tasks alone)
1. "Vater ist krank gewesen. " - Er hat gesagt, Vater krank .
("The father was sick" - He said, the father had been sick)
2. "Mutter hatte Geld." - Er hat gesagt, Mutter Geld .
("Mother had money" - He said, mother has had money)
3. "Mara hat keine Angst." - Er hat gesagt, Mara Angst.
("Mara has no fear" - He said, Mara has had no fear)
4. "Sie waren zusammen." - Er hat gesagt, sie zusammen .
("They were together" - He said, they had been together)
5. "Er hatte Sie geliebt." - Er hat gesagt, er sie .
("He loved her" - He said, he has loved her)
6. "Laura war nach Hamburg gereist." - Er hat gesagt, Laura nach Hamburg .
("Laura traveled to Hamburg" - He said, Laura has traveled to Hamburg)
7. "Tante Hilde wohnt in Hamburg." - Er hat gesagt, Tante Hilde in Hamburg .
("Aunt Hilde lives in Hamburg" - He said, aunt Hilde lives in Hamburg)
8. "Wir hatten dich besucht. " Er hat gesagt, wir dich .
("We have visited you" - He said, we have visited you)
This not a good example of the usage of subjunctive I. We have learned that in this cases we use the subjunctive II to identify the indirect speech
Use the subjunctive II
Er hat gesagt, wir dich . (He said, we would have visited you)
9. "Der Tisch war aufgebaut." Er hat gesagt, der Tisch .
("The table was built" - He said, the table were built)
10. "Die Wohnung war gestrichen." Er hat gesagt, die Wohnung .
("The apartment was painted" - He said, the apartmend was painted)