German Subjunctive I
Exercises
- Exercise for German Subjunctive I! Score -/-
- Exercise: Build the subjunctive 1 Score -/-
Lesson Outline
HideThe usage and formation of the subjunctive I
The subjunctive I is a form that in general is only used in reports or newspapers. In them it describes a indirect speech. For example: "Die Frau berichtete, das Obst sei schlecht." (The woman reported, the fruits were bad.) Other than that the subjunctive I is only used in fixed German expressions. Examples for the use of the subjunctive I:
| Indirect speech | Fixed expressions |
|---|---|
|
Sie sagte, sie habe davon nichts gewusst. (She said she didn't know that.) |
Sei es wie is sei. (Be it as it may.) |
|
Er sagte mir, er komme heute nicht mehr. (He told me he wouldn't come today.) |
Lang lebe der König. (Long live the king.) |
|
Sie vergewisserten mir, sie seien pünktlich. (They assured me they would be on time.) |
Gott sei Dank. (Thank god.) |
How to form the German Subjunctive I
When forming the German subjunctive I the word "sein" (to be) is the most important to learn. That's because "sein " is the only German verb for which you can form the Subjunctive I for all persons. Here you can see it in a table
| Person | sein (to be) |
|---|---|
| ich | sei |
| du | seiest |
| er/ sie/ es | sei |
| wir | seien |
| ihr | seiet |
| sie | seien |
For all other verbs you can only form the 3rd person singular in subjunctive I. It is really easy to form this - you just take the indefinite form of the verb an remove the "-n" at the end! A few examples:
| Infinitive | Subjunctive I |
|---|---|
|
Haben (to have) |
Er/Sie/Es habe |
|
Schreiben (to write) |
Er/Sie/Es schreibe |
|
Lesen (to read) |
Er/Sie/Es lese |
|
Fragen (to ask) |
Er/Sie/Es frage |
|
Müssen (to have to) |
Er/Sie/Es müsse |
|
Sagen (to say) |
Er/Sie/Es sage |
|
Lachen (to laugh) |
Er/Sie/Es lache |
Now, that you have learned about the subjunctive I you can either practice it in the following exercise or learn about the subjunctive II in the next chapter!
Practise with a private teacher on Skype!
- Private Skype lessons
- Learn any topic
- Flexible appointments
German Classes for TestDaf, DaF
I teach: German
Hello, my name is Claus !For many years I teach students from all over the world as a professional teacher of the German language. With a lot of... experience and patience I lead my students to their to teach successfully and with fun. I offer you general language courses of A1-C2 with test preparations, as well as courses in Business German (prerequisites are language proficiency in German from level B1 +!). Read more
This teacher is one of our premium members. A premium teacher is very motivated to provide an excellent learning experience.
German lessons and learning materials included
I teach: English, French, German
My name is Christina and I provide fun German and French language lesson for children and adult beginners or intermediate who want to... strengthen their language skills, improve the grammar knowledge, enrich the vocabulary and get into the German culture! I can teach in English or French!I had experince in teaching German, English and French to foreign people so I do have a lot of useful learning material I can provide you to make it easier! Read more
This teacher is one of our premium members. A premium teacher is very motivated to provide an excellent learning experience.
German native teacher for German and Spanish classes
I teach: German, Spanish
I am Marcus Hartmann, 30 years old and I have been living in Cali, Colombia, for more than four years. There I work as a German teacher for... Spanish-speaking people, young and old. I love the German language and develop many modern methodologies to make the German more playful and easier to learn. I also run a blog and a Facebook page, where I present many tips and tricks that make learning German easier. I teach German for all levels and Spanish for beginners. Read more
Very experienced teacher!
