Reported Speech Basics
Report what other people say and ask: statements with dass, indirect questions with ob and question words, and the Konjunktiv II forms that add polite distance, as in er meint, er wäre krank.
Reporting statements with dass
You have used dass-clauses since A2, and reported speech begins exactly there: a verb of saying, a comma, dass, and the verb at the end. The saying verbs are worth collecting, because each adds a shade of meaning — sagen (say), erzählen (tell), berichten (report), erklären (explain), behaupten (claim, with a hint of doubt), mitteilen (inform, official).
Good news for learners: at B1 the tense inside the reported clause simply stays what it was. Sie sagt: "Der Aufzug ist kaputt." becomes Sie sagt, dass der Aufzug kaputt ist. German does not shift the tense backwards the way English does with she said the lift was broken.
Everything you know about subordinate clauses applies unchanged: the conjugated verb goes last, and a Perfekt or passive verb group gathers at the end in its usual order.
Meine Nachbarin sagt, dass der Aufzug schon wieder kaputt ist.
My neighbour says that the lift is broken yet again.
Der Vermieter hat mir mitgeteilt, dass die Heizung nächste Woche repariert wird.
The landlord informed me that the heating will be repaired next week.
The passive slots into the dass-clause without any change: repariert wird at the end.
In der Zeitung stand, dass die Mieten im letzten Jahr stark gestiegen sind.
It said in the newspaper that rents rose sharply last year.
Er behauptet, dass er von dem Termin nichts wusste.
He claims that he knew nothing about the appointment.
behaupten signals that the speaker is not sure the statement is true.
Reporting questions
Questions are reported with the indirect patterns you met at A2, now stretched over longer B1 material. A yes-or-no question travels behind ob: "Haben Sie alle Unterlagen dabei?" becomes Sie fragte, ob ich alle Unterlagen dabei habe. A W-question keeps its question word: Er wollte wissen, warum ich den Vertrag noch nicht unterschrieben habe.
The introducing verbs go beyond fragen: wissen wollen (want to know), sich erkundigen (enquire, formal), keine Ahnung haben (have no idea). And the polite request formula Können Sie mir sagen, ob ...? remains your best friend in every office.
As always in subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb moves to the end — even though the original question had it at the front. That reversal is the single most common slip in reported questions, so give it one more conscious check every time.
Die Sachbearbeiterin fragte, ob ich alle Unterlagen dabei habe.
The caseworker asked whether I had all the documents with me.
Ich habe mich erkundigt, wann der Bescheid verschickt wird.
I enquired when the decision letter will be sent out.
Er wollte wissen, warum ich den Vertrag noch nicht unterschrieben habe.
He wanted to know why I had not signed the contract yet.
Können Sie mir sagen, ob mein Antrag schon bearbeitet wurde?
Can you tell me whether my application has already been processed?
Keeping your distance with Konjunktiv II
Sometimes you want to report a statement without vouching for it. German does this elegantly: put the reported verb into Konjunktiv II — the wäre, hätte, könnte and würde forms you learned for wishes and unreal conditions. Er sagt, er hätte keine Zeit reports his words while quietly signalling: that is his claim, not my knowledge.
Notice the second change in that sentence: the dass has disappeared, and the reported clause keeps main-clause word order with the verb in second position. Both patterns are correct — er sagt, dass er keine Zeit hätte and er sagt, er hätte keine Zeit — but the dass-less version is very common in speech.
For most verbs, spoken German uses würde plus infinitive rather than a special form: Sie meinte, sie würde sich darum kümmern. The handful of verbs with their own comfortable Konjunktiv II — wäre, hätte, könnte, müsste, wüsste — appear in their one-word forms.
Er sagt, er hätte im Moment sehr viel Arbeit.
He says he has a great deal of work at the moment.
No dass — the reported clause keeps verb-second order, and hätte adds distance.
Sie meinte, sie würde sich um das Problem kümmern.
She said she would take care of the problem.
Mein Kollege behauptet, er wäre gestern pünktlich gewesen.
My colleague claims he was on time yesterday.
wäre ... gewesen — the speaker clearly doubts the claim.
Die Firma teilte mit, sie könnte die Ware erst nächste Woche liefern.
The company said that it could not deliver the goods until next week.
Er sei — a recognition note for the news
Open any German newspaper or turn on the radio news and you will meet a form this course has not taught: Der Minister sagte, die Lage sei ernst. Die Zeugin erklärte, sie habe nichts gesehen. These sei and habe forms belong to the Konjunktiv I, the special reporting mood of formal written German.
You do not need to produce Konjunktiv I at B1, and this lesson will not teach its paradigm. What you need is recognition: when you see or hear sei where you expect ist, or habe where you expect hat, the writer is reporting someone else's words in formal style — nothing more. The meaning is the same as the dass-version you can already build.
For your own speaking and writing, the tools from the first three sections are exactly right for the B1 exam and for daily life: dass-clauses, indirect questions, and Konjunktiv II for distance. Save the rest for B2.
Der Minister sagte, die Lage sei ernst.
The minister said the situation was serious.
sei = formal reported form of ist. Recognise it; you do not need to produce it.
Der Zeuge erklärte, er habe nichts gesehen.
The witness stated that he had seen nothing.
habe = formal reported form of hat.
In dem Bericht heißt es, die Zahl der Bewerbungen sei deutlich gestiegen.
The report says that the number of applications has risen considerably.
Check yourself
Quick checks on this lesson. Get at least three quarters right to mark it as completed.
How do you correctly report the question Wann kommt der Bus?
Practise what you learned