Editing Subjunctive mood (section)

====={{lang|de|Konjunktiv I}}=====
The present subjunctive occurs in certain expressions (e.g. {{lang|de|Es lebe der König!}} "Long live the king!") and in indirect (reported) speech. Its use can frequently be replaced by the indicative mood. For example, {{lang|de|Er sagte, er sei Arzt}} ('He said he was a physician') is a neutral representation of what was said and makes no claim as to whether the speaker thinks the reported statement is true or not.

The past subjunctive can often be used to express the same sentiments: {{lang|de|Er sagte, er wäre Arzt.}} Or, for example, instead of the formal, written {{lang|de|Er sagte, er habe keine Zeit}} 'He said he had no time' with present subjunctive {{lang|de|habe}}, one can use past subjunctive {{lang|de|hätte}}: {{lang|de|Er sagte, er '''hätte''' keine Zeit.}}

In speech, however, the past subjunctive is common without any implication that the speaker doubts the speech he is reporting. As common is use of the indicative {{lang|de|Er sagte, er ist Arzt}} and {{lang|de|Er sagte, er hat keine Zeit.}} This is often changed in written reports to the forms using present subjunctive.

The present subjunctive is regular for all verbs except the verb {{lang|de|sein}} ("to be"). It is formed by adding {{lang|de|-e, -est, -e, -en, -et, -en}} to the stem of the infinitive. The verb {{lang|de|sein}} has the stem {{lang|de|sei-}} for the present subjunctive declension, but it has no ending for the first and third person singular. While the use of present subjunctive for reported speech is formal and common in newspaper articles, its use in colloquial speech is in continual decline.

It is possible to express the subjunctive in various tenses, including the perfect ({{lang|de|er sei da gewesen}} 'he has [apparently] been there') and the future ({{lang|de|er werde da sein}} 'he will be there'). For the preterite, which forms the Konjunktiv II with a somewhat other meaning, indirect speech has to switch to the perfect tense, so that: {{lang|de|Er sagte: "Ich war da."}} becomes {{lang|de|Er sagte, er sei da gewesen.}}