In this lesson I will explain to you the German Subjunctive 1. I will explain what the subjunctive actually is and you will learn the construction, the usage and the irregularities of the German Subjunctive 1.
What is the Subjunctive 1?
The subjunctive 1 is a special form of the verb conjugation. (There are 4 in German: indicative, imperative, subjunctive 1 and subjunctive 2)
We mainly find the subjunctive 1 in the news, for indirect speech (when you report what someone said without quoting it) and it is also used in specific expressions.
What is Indirect Speech?
The subjunctive 1 is a special form of the verb conjugation. (There are 4 in German: indicative, imperative, subjunctive 1 and subjunctive 2)
We mainly find the subjunctive 1 in the news, for indirect speech (when you report what someone said without quoting it) and it is also used in specific expressions.
What is Indirect Speech?
Direct Speech:
The teacher says: „Deutsch ist nicht schwer!“
Indirect Speech:
The student says to a friend: „Mein Lehrer sagt: Deutsch sei nicht schwer.“
⇒ The speaker is the teacher, and the student is reporting what the teacher said.
Constructing the Subjunctive 1
Theoretically there is a subjunctive I for for all verbs, but in practice only „sein“ is used with all people (ich, du, er, etc.)
- ich sei
- du sei(e)st
- er/sie/es sei
- wir seien
- ihr seiet
- sie/Sie seien
For all other verbs we normally only use the subjunctive 1 in the third person singular.
To create it, we just have to take away the „n“ from the infinitive form.
- leben ⇒ „er lebe“
- haben ⇒ „er habe“
In the second person (du/ihr) the subjunctive I is used rarely and is distinguished from the indicative by adding an „e“ before the ending.
- Bringen ⇒ „du bringest“ / „ihr bringet“
- Gehen ⇒ „du gehest“ / „ihr gehet“
In informal speech the subjunctive 2 would be used.
In the first person singular (ich) and in the first and third person plural (wir/sie) the subjunctive 1 is not used anymore. Instead, the subjunctive 2 is used.
He says: „Wir gehen ins Kino.“
- „Er sagt, sie würden ins Kino gehen.“ (= Subjunctive 2)
- „Er sagt, sie gehen ins Kino.“ (= Indicative)
Tenses in Subjunctive 1
he subjunctive 1 can be used in simple present, perfect, and future tenses.
The conjugated verb is put in the subjunctive 1 form.
Example:
Simple Present: „Er sage“ / „Er fahre“
Perfect Tense: „Er habe gesagt“ / „Er sei gefahren“
Future Tense: „Er werde sagen“ / „Er werde fahren“
Specific Expressions in Subjunctive 1
Besides indirect speech subjunctive 1 is also used in some specific expressions:
- „Hoch lebe das Geburtstagskind!“
- „Gott sei dank!“
- „Es lebe die Freiheit.“
Subjunctive 1 in Informal Speech
In informal speech subjunctive 1 isn´t really used.
We prefer to use indicative (the regular form) or subjunctive 2.
- „Der Lehrer sagt, dass Deutsch nicht schwer ist.“ (100% correct: „Der Lehrer sagt, dass Deutsch nicht schwer sei.“ )
Only the second version is grammatically correct. But except for German teachers and students of the German language nobody will notice the mistake.
I don´t want to say that you shouldn´t learn it, but don´t spend too much time with it if you don´t need it for professional reasons as a cook (old recipes are written in subjunctive 1) or in a hospital (you have to repeat quite often what a patient or another doctor said).
Further Information
- Subjunctive 1 can be used in the present tense, the perfect tense and the future tense only.
- Subjunctive 1 is dying. That´s why most often the indicative form or the subjunctive 2 is used instead of subjunctive 1.
Do you like EasyDeutsch?
Use the comments under each lesson for feedback! I love feedback! Also if you think I could do better... I want to know it! And if you like it I am glad and hope that I can continue to help you with hints, advice and simple explanations in the future as well. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter. I will share daily exercises as well as helpful links with you. If you subscribe to my Youtube-Channel you can practise your listening and writing skills with dictations.
[easy-social-like facebook="true" facebook_url="https://www.facebook.com/EasyDeutsch" twitter_follow="true" twitter_follow_user="EasyDeutsch" google_follow="true" google_follow_url="https://plus.google.com/b/103119812796307817812" youtube="true" youtube_chanel="UCluY2ph0_l4rwlYEz_xHM6g" pinterest_pin="true" skin="flat" counters=0 align="left"]Get all the updates and my famous articles secret straight to you mailbox! Subscribe to the EasyDeutsch Newsletter:
[thrive_leads id='6616']If you like it, I am sure your friends will like it as well! Share EasyDeutsch with them and learn together!
Wishing you success and happy learning,
Jan
