In German, reported speech constructions are used, as the name suggests, to repeat or report what someone else said. The most common way to report speech is through a special construction known as indirect speech (indirekte Rede), in which a speaker reports the general content of someone’s speech, rather than quoting their exact words. Some English examples of this might be:
Melinda said that she wouldn’t forget the chip dip.
In German, an indirect speech construction usually has two parts: (1) a reporting verbNo definition set for reporting verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., like sagen(to say), berichten(to report), or erklären(to explain), and (2) the message of the speech, which usually uses a verb in the subjunctiveNo definition set for subjunctiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..
Die Studentin gab zu, dass sie mehr lernen müsse.
The student admitted that she has to study more.
Ihr Professor sagte, sie könne den Test noch bestehen.
Her professor said she can still pass the test.
Indirect reported speech is common in both written and spoken German, so mastering it is an important part of learning the language! Let’s talk about it in more detail!
In German, as in English, there are two different ways to report what someone else said:
direct speech → a quote
indirect speech → the message is conveyed in a subordinate clauseNo definition set for subordinate clauseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., but the exact phrasing isn’t preserved
Just like in English, the punctuation, verb forms, and some other aspects of the sentence are very different in direct vs. indirect speech.
Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
Martina: „Ich kann nicht zu dir kommen.“ Martina: “I can’t come to you.” | Martina erklärt, sie könne nicht zu mir kommen. Martina explains she couldn’t come to me. |
Paul sagte: „Ich muss morgen zum Arzt.” Paul said, “I have to go to the doctor tomorrow.” | Paul sagte, er müsse morgen zum Arzt. Paul said he has to go to the doctor tomorrow. |
Sabine: „Die Uni ist sehr stressig.” Sabine: “University is very stressful.” | Sabine behauptete, die Uni sei sehr stressig. Sabine claimed university is very stressful. |
Both types of reported speech can be introduced by reporting verbs, like erklären(explain), sagen(say), or beanspruchen(claim). Check out this longer list of German reporting verbs for more examples.
Notice the difference between English and German quotation marks? In German a direct quote is introduced by a low quotation mark and concludes with a higher one.
„Morgen gehe ich ins Kino.”
“I will go to the movies tomorrow.”
Also notice that German quotes are introduced by a colon.
In the sections below, we’ll talk about the differences between direct and indirect speech as a set of rules that you can use to transform a quote into indirect speech. Keep in mind, though, that indirect speech doesn’t actually have to follow the real wording of the original quote.
Now, let’s have a look at how to form indirect speech in German!
In German, you can form an indirect speech construction from a direct quote by making two major changes:
Change the verb from indicativeNo definition set for indicativeLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. to subjunctiveNo definition set for subjunctiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..
Change the pronouns (and sometimes other time and place descriptions) to match the context in which you’re making your report.
These changes apply to all indirect speech, whether you’re reporting a statement, a question, or a command. Compare:
Direct Speech | pronounindicative verb Paul: „Ich arbeite nächstes Wochenende nicht.” Paul: “I won’t be working next weekend.” |
|---|---|
Indirect Speech | pronounverb in subjunctive I Paul sagte, er arbeite nächstes Wochenende nicht. Paul said he wasn’t working next weekend. |
In written German and formal German, you should use the subjunctive I in indirect speech. In casual speech, however, people may use the indicative mood or the subjunctive II:
Martina erklärte, sie könne nicht zu mir kommen.
Martina explained she couldn’t come to me.
Martina erklärte, sie kann nicht zu mir kommen.
Martina explained she can’t come to me.
In addition, there are many circumstances where the subjunctive II is also acceptable, even in more formal speech, and might even be preferable to using the subjunctive I. We’ll talk about these cases in the last section of this post.
Sometimes you will have to change words that describe the time, location, or direction to match the context where you’re reporting the speech as well. For example:
Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
Martina: „Ich fliege morgen nach Hause.” Martina: “I’m flying home tomorrow.” → Martina spoke yesterday. | Sie sagte, sie fliege heute nach Hause. She said she was flying home today. → Speech is reported today. |
Martina: „Ich habe meine Tasche dort gelassen.“ Martina: “I left my bag there.” → Martina is not at the house where she left her bag. | Martina sagte, sie habe ihre Tasche hier gelassen. Martina said she left her bag here. → I, the speaker, am at the house where Martina left her bag. |
Most indirect speech constructions will follow the rules above, but there are a few more rules to learn if you want to really form these constructions. Let’s look deeper!
In German, an indirect statement will sometimes, but not always, begin with dass(that). It’s a lot like how, in English, you could either say “He said that he was hungry” or just “He said he was hungry.”
In German, though, whether or not you include the word dass can lead to some differences in word order.
If an indirect statement is introduced by dass the conjugated verb in the subjunctive I will come at the end of the clauseNo definition set for clauseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. This is because dass is a subordinating conjunction that “kicks” verbs to the end. Compare:
Direct Speech | verb (indicative) Andrea: „Ich esse gerne Nudeln.“ Andrea: “I like to eat noodles.” |
|---|---|
Indirect Speech | subordinating conjunctionverb (subjunctive I) Andrea sagte, dass sie gerne Nudeln esse. Andrea said that she likes to eat noodles. |
Direct Speech | verb (indicative) Der Präsident: „Das Land braucht mehr Geld für Bildung.“ The President: “The country needs more money for education.” |
|---|---|
Indirect Speech | subordinating conjunctionverb (subjunctive I) Der Präsident meinte, dass das Land mehr Geld für Bildung brauche. The President said that the country needs more money for education. |
Check out our post on German subordinating conjunctions to learn more about verb-kicking conjunctions like dass!
If an indirect statement is not introduced by dass(that), then the verb generally remains in second position:
Direct Speech | verb (indicative) Andrea: „Ich esse gerne Nudeln.“ Andrea: “I like to eat noodles.” |
|---|---|
Indirect Speech | first elementverb (subjunctive I) Andrea sagte, sie esse gerne Nudeln. Andrea said she likes to eat noodles. |
Direct Speech | verb (indicative) Der Präsident: „Das Land braucht mehr Geld für Bildung.“ The President: “The country needs more money for education.” |
|---|---|
Indirect Speech | first elementverb (subjunctive I) Der Präsident meinte, das Land brauche mehr Geld für Bildung. The President said the country needs more money for education. |
Notice, though, that apart from the position of the verb, indirect statements will follow the major rules we outlined above: they have a verb in the subjunctive I and the pronouns have changed to match the reporting context.
In German, the way you report a question will depend on what kind of question someone asked. Is it a “yes/no” question, with no question word, or is it wh- question, using a question word like warum(why) or wer(who)? Let’s look at each type.
Indirect yes/no questions in German are introduced by the subordinating conjunction ob(whether/if). Because ob is a subordinating conjunction, the verb in the subjunctive I will be “kicked” to the end of the clause.
Direct Speech | verb (indicative) Andrea: „Isst du gerne Nudeln?“ Andrea: “Do you like to eat noodles?” |
|---|---|
Indirect Speech | subordinating conjunctionverb (subjunctive I) Andrea fragte, ob ich gerne Nudeln esse. Andrea asked if I like to eat noodles. |
Direct Speech | verb (indicative) Der Präsident: „Braucht das Land mehr Geld für Bildung?“ The President: “Does the country need more money for education?” |
|---|---|
Indirect Speech | subordinating conjunctionverb (subjunctive I) Der Präsident fragte, ob das Land mehr Geld für Bildung brauche. The President asked if the country needed more money for education. |
Much like in English, German indirect wh- questions begin with a wh- word, like warum(why) or wer(who). You can think of these words as subordinating conjunctions in this context, because the verb in subjunctive I is still “kicked” to the end of the clause
Direct Speech | wh- wordverb (indicative) Andrea: „Was hast du gestern gegessen?“ Andrea: “What did you eat yesterday?” |
|---|---|
Indirect Speech | wh- wordverb (subjunctive I) Andrea fragte, was ich gestern gegessen habe. Andrea asked what I ate yesterday. |
Direct Speech | wh- wordverb (indicative) Der Präsident: „Warum hat mich niemand informiert?" The President: “Why did nobody inform me?” |
|---|---|
Indirect Speech | wh- wordverb (subjunctive I) Der Präsident fragte, warum ihn niemand informiert habe. The President asked why nobody informed him. |
When reporting an indirect command or request, German speakers prefer to use the modal verbs sollen(shall), mögen(may), or müssen(must) before the requested action. Because this is reported speech, these modals appear in their subjunctive I form.
Direct Speech | verb (imperative) Die Lehrerin sagte: „Gib mir deine Hausaufgaben!“ The teacher said, “Give me your homework!” |
|---|---|
Indirect Speech | modal verb (subjunctive I)modified verb (infinitive) Die Lehrerin sagte, ich solle ihr meine Hausaufgaben geben. The teacher said I should give her my homework. |
Just like with declarative sentences, though, you have the option to use dass(that) or not. If you opt for the version without dass(that), the verb is in second position in the subordinate clause. If you choose the version with dass(that), it comes in last position.
Direct Speech | verb (imperative) Andrea: „Kannst du öfter Nudeln für mich kochen?” Andrea: “Can you cook noodles for me more often?” |
|---|---|
Indirect Speech | modal verb (subjunctive I)subordinating conjunction Andrea verlangte, ich solle/möge/müsse öfter Nudeln für sie kochen. Andrea requested I should/may/must cook noodles for her more often. Andrea verlangte, dass ich öfter Nudeln für sie kochen solle/möge/müsse. Andrea requested that I should cook noodles for her more often. |
Sollen(shall) and mögen(may) are generally interchangeable in indirect speech, but using sollen sounds slightly more modern than using mögen. Müssen(must), however, is used to report a more serious demand. For example:
Der Polizist sagte, ich müsse langsamer fahren.
The police officer said I have to drive slower.
In German, the verb in indirect speech will generally be in the subjunctive I, but the tense you should use will depend only on the tense in the direct quote. The chart below demonstrates how to “translate” each tense in direct speech into indirect speech using the verb essen(to eat):
Tense in Direct Speech | Tense in Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
Present “er isst” | Present Subjunctive I …er esse |
Perfect “er hat gegessen” | Past Subjunctive I …er habe gegessen |
Simple Past “er aß” | |
Past Perfect “er hatte gegessen” | |
Simple Future “er wird essen” | Future Subjunctive I …er werde essen |
Future Perfect “er wird gegessen haben” | Future Perfect Subjunctive I …er werde gegessen haben |
This is actually much simpler than the English system! In English, the tense of the verb in indirect speech varies depending on the tense of the reporting verb. You can see this difference by comparing the German and the English in the right-hand column of the charts below:
Direct Speech – Present indicative | Indirect Speech – Present subjunctive I |
|---|---|
„Mein Sohn isst ein Sandwich.“ “My son is eating a sandwich.” | Er sagt, sein Sohn esse ein Sandwich. He is saying (that) his son is eating a sandwich. Er sagte, sein Sohn esse ein Sandwich. He said his son was eating a sandwich. |
Direct Speech – Perfect indicative | Indirect Speech – Past subjunctive I |
|---|---|
„Mein Sohn hat ein Sandwich gegessen.“ “My son ate a sandwich.” | Er sagt, sein Sohn habe ein Sandwich gegessen. He is saying (that) his son ate a sandwich Er sagte, sein Sohn habe ein Sandwich gegessen. He said his son had eaten a sandwich. |
So, hey! This should feel much easier for once!
Though the basic rule states that you should use the subjunctive I in German indirect speech, you will often hear German speakers using the subjunctive II form instead. This can happen for a couple different reasons.
The present subjunctive I looks the same as the present indicative in the first-person singular and plural forms (ich and wir), and in the third person plural (sie/Sie):
Present Subjunctive II | Present Indicative |
|---|---|
ich mache | ich mache |
wir machen | wir machen |
sie/Sie machen | sie/Sie machen |
When using one of these subjects, you can replace the subjunctive I with the subjunctive II to clarify that the subjunctive was intended. For example:
Present Indicative | „Ich schreibe ein Buch.” I’m writing a book. |
|---|---|
Present Subjunctive I | Ich sagte, ich schreibe ein Buch. I said I was writing a book. |
Present Subjunctive II | Ich sagte, ich würde ein Buch schreiben. I said I was writing a book. |
With any subject, though, you can use the subjunctive II instead of the subjunctive I as a way to express doubt in the message you’re conveying. You’ll often see this used by reporters who want to clarify that they are reporting someone’s claim, not solid facts.
Remember also that in everyday speech, the subjunctive is often abandoned entirely, and the indicative is used instead!
Here are the most important things to remember from this post on German reported speech:
Direct speech reports a direct quote (e.g. He said, “...”). Indirect speech reports the message of someone’s words as a subordinate clause (e.g. He said that…).
In formal German, the verb in an indirect speech clause should be in the subjunctive I and should use the same tense (past, present, future) as the original quote.
As in English, you may also need to change some other words from the direct quote like pronouns, direction words, or time phrases to match the context in which the speech is being reported.
There are some contexts where you might want to use the subjunctive II instead of the subjunctive I, especially with ich, wir, and sie/Sie subjects.
In informal German, you might hear the indicative used instead of the subjunctive.
Don’t forget to use subordinate clause word order in indirect speech clauses!
Statements are introduced by dass(that) or no conjunction (these have different word orders!).
Yes/no questions are introduced by ob(if, whether).
Wh- questions are introduced by a question word, just like in English!
Now that you know how to use and form indirect speech in German, head on over to our reported speech activities to practice what you’ve learned!
