Reported Speech Shift

Imagine you are a journalist. You interview a famous chef. The chef says: "My soup is the best." You cannot say "The soup is the best." That would be your own opinion. Instead, you use reported speech. You say: "He said the soup sei the best." This sei is the Konjunktiv I form. It creates a "grammar bubble" around the quote. Inside this bubble, the speaker is responsible for the truth. You are just the narrator. This is very useful in job interviews. You can report what your previous boss said about you. It sounds much more professional than direct quotes. It keeps the focus on the information, not the gossip. Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes, so don't worry!

1. 1Start with the verb stem. Use the infinitive as your base.
2. 2Remove the -en ending from the infinitive.
3. 3Add the specific Konjunktiv I endings to the stem.
4. 4For ich, add the ending -e.
5. 5For du, add the ending -est.
6. 6For er/sie/es, add the ending -e.
7. 7For wir, add the ending -en.
8. 8For ihr, add the ending -et.
9. 9For sie/Sie, add the ending -en.
10. 10Note the "Replacement Rule" (Ersatzregel) carefully.
11. 11If the Konjunktiv I form looks identical to the present tense, stop.
12. 12Switch to Konjunktiv II instead to avoid confusion.
13. 13This happens most often with ich, wir, and sie forms.
14. 14The verb sein is special and irregular. It uses sei, seiest, sei, seien, seiet, seien.

Use it when you summarize a business meeting. Use it when you write a formal news article. It is perfect for academic papers and research summaries. You can quote researchers without agreeing with their findings. It is also great for formal emails in a corporate setting. "The client mentioned they hätten interest." Wait, that's a replacement form! Use Konjunktiv I whenever you want to stay objective. It is like a grammar traffic light. It tells the listener: "Proceed with caution, this is someone else's claim." It is the standard for high-level German media like the Tagesschau.

Do not use it with your best friends. They might think you are a robot or a lawyer. In casual speech, we usually use dass-clauses with the indicative. "Er hat gesagt, er kommt später." That is perfectly fine for a coffee date. Also, avoid it if you agree 100% with the fact. If the fact is undisputed, use the normal indicative. "Er sagte, dass die Erde rund ist." Everyone knows the earth is round. No need for fancy distancing here. If you use it for gossip, you might sound like a very fancy spy.

The biggest mistake is the "Identity Trap." Many Konjunktiv I forms look exactly like the present tense. For example, wir kommen. In Konjunktiv I, it is also wir kommen. This is confusing for the listener. They won't know it is reported speech. You must switch to Konjunktiv II here. Say wir kämen or wir würden kommen. Another mistake is overusing it in daily life. You don't need it for every single sentence. Use it for the main points of a report. Don't be the person who reports "He said he sei hungry" at dinner. Just say "Er hat Hunger."

Compare Konjunktiv I with Konjunktiv II. Konjunktiv I is for neutral reporting. It is the "messenger" mood. Konjunktiv II is for dreams, wishes, and hypothetical situations. It is the "dreamer" mood. If you say "Er sagte, er sei reich," you are reporting a claim neutrally. If you say "Er sagte, er wäre reich," you might be doubting him. Konjunktiv II often adds a layer of skepticism or irony. It is like a grammar eye-roll. "He claims he *would be* rich (but we know he isn't)." Stick to Konjunktiv I for pure, professional reporting.