Reference · module 25
Reporting what others said
Everything this module explains, on one page.
He said that
Pass on what somebody told you.
- Reporting speech in everyday German is simply dass with the verb at the end: Er sagt, dass er müde ist.
- The pronouns shift, exactly as they do in any language: Ich bin müde becomes Er sagt, dass er müde ist. The person changes, not the tense.
- German does not push the tense back the way English does. Er sagte, dass er müde ist stays in the present, and that is correct.
The mistake you are about to make
Er sagte, dass er müde war.
Er sagte, dass er müde ist.
English shifts the tense back — he said he was tired. German does not: he was tired at the moment he spoke, so it stays ist.
Reporting a question
Say what somebody asked without quoting them.
- A yes-or-no question becomes ob: Kommst du? turns into Er fragt, ob ich komme. The same ob you already use after weiß nicht.
- A question with a question word keeps it: Wo wohnst du? becomes Er fragt, wo ich wohne. The word stays and the verb moves to the end.
- And the question mark goes. Er fragt, ob ich komme is a statement about a question, so it ends with a full stop.
The mistake you are about to make
Er fragt, wo wohne ich?
Er fragt, wo ich wohne.
The question order and the question mark both try to survive the move. Neither does: the verb goes last and the sentence ends on a full stop.
Reading the news
Follow a short news item without a dictionary.
- die Nachricht, die Zeitung, der Bericht, die Regierung, die Wahl, die Umfrage. Six words open most of a news page.
- laut means according to and takes the dative: laut einem Bericht, laut der Regierung. It is the shortest way to name a source.
- In print you will also meet a special reported form: Er sagte, er sei müde. sei rather than ist marks the words as somebody else's. You need to read it, not write it.
The mistake you are about to make
laut des Berichts
laut einem Bericht
Laut keeps company with wegen and trotz, so the genitive looks right. It takes the dative instead: laut einem Bericht, laut der Regierung.
Reporting an opinion
Repeat what somebody thinks and mark whether you agree.
- The verb you choose says where you stand. Er sagt is neutral, er behauptet is doubtful, er erklärt suggests you accept it.
- To agree out loud: Ich stimme zu, or Da hast du recht. To disagree: Das sehe ich anders. All three are short and none of them is rude.
The mistake you are about to make
Ich stimme zu dir.
Ich stimme dir zu.
"Agree with you" keeps the little word beside the verb, so zu stays put. It is a separable prefix: it goes to the end, with the person in the dative before it.