Modern German Grammar: A Practical Guide, Second Edition

Ich wollte eigentlich heute Abend ins Kino gehen.

I wanted to go to the cinema this evening.

 See also 35.6b (p. 78).

39.4 Use of Subjunctive I

(a) The main use is to characterize a stretch of speech as a report, i.e. not necessarily

voicing the speaker’s own words or opinions:

Er sagte, er habe jetzt keine Zeit.

He said he had no time right now.

 See also^85 (pp. 307–9).

But, in fact, both Subjunctive I and Subjunctive II are used for this purpose.

(b) Subjunctive I is also used in expressions with the sense of ‘let it be so’

Es lebe die neue Demokratie!

Long live the new democracy!

ABC sei ein gleichschenkliges Dreieck.

Let ABC be an isosceles triangle.

 For assumptions in a scientific context using this construction, see 89.2 (p. 323).

39.5 Formation of Subjunctive I

(a) The present tense of Subjunctive I is formed from the infinitive by removing the

final -n to obtain the er/sie/es/man form:

Subjunctive I is rarely used outside the er/sie/es/man, form (for the forms of man see

31.4), and there are usually no clear Subjunctive I forms in other persons of the verb

(e.g. in the wir or the third person plural sie forms). Where Subjunctive I forms are not

clearly recognizable, the appropriate Subjunctive II is used instead.

Hence in the third person singular habe is possible:

Er sagte, der Minister habe verantwortungsvoll gehandelt.

He said the minister had acted responsibly.

Infinitive Subjunctive I 3rd person sg.

sein

haben

gehen

sagen

er/sie/es/man sei

er/sie/es/man habe

er/sie/es/man gehe

er/sie/es/man sage

39

Subjunctive