The Konjunktiv I reports what someone else said without taking a stance on its truth. It is most distinctive in the 3rd person singular (er sage, er habe, er sei); where it would coincide with the present indicative, Konjunktiv II is used instead. The stem takes the endings -e, -est, -e, -en, -et, -en.
When to use it
Reporting a statement
Er sagt, er habe keine Zeit.
He says he has no time.
News and journalism
Der Minister sei zurückgetreten.
The minister has reportedly resigned.
Regular endings
| -e | sein | |
|---|---|---|
| ich | -e | sei |
| du | -est | seist |
| er/sie/es | -e | sei |
| wir | -en | seien |
| ihr | -et | seiet |
| sie/Sie | -en | seien |
Frequently asked
The Konjunktiv I reports what someone else said without taking a stance on its truth. It is most distinctive in the 3rd person singular (er sage, er habe, er sei); where it would coincide with the present indicative, Konjunktiv II is used instead. The stem takes the endings -e, -est, -e, -en, -et, -en. The main cases are reporting a statement and news and journalism. For example: Er sagt, er habe keine Zeit. — He says he has no time..
Regular verbs take: -e: ich -e, du -est, er/sie/es -e, wir -en, ihr -et, sie/Sie -en; sein: ich sei, du seist, er/sie/es sei, wir seien, ihr seiet, sie/Sie seien.
The most common ones are sein, haben, werden, können, müssen, wollen, sollen and dürfen. Each has its own conjugation table with the full set of forms.
The Konjunktiv I Gegenwart sits at B2 — Upper Intermediate, and Verboteca practice is free at A1. The rule, the tables and the examples on this page stay readable without a subscription or an account.
Every verb form becomes a card that comes back right before you would forget it.
