Reported speech replacements (Konjunktiv II)

When reporting what politicians claim during a campaign, we normally use indirect speech (Konjunktiv I). But there is a catch when dealing with plural pronouns.

The Replacement Rule (Ersatzform)

For the pronouns wir (we), sie (they), and Sie (formal you), the Konjunktiv I form is almost always identical to the normal present tense. For example, "they lower" is sie senken, and the reported speech form is also sie senken.

If we use the identical form, the listener might not realize we are just reporting an unverified claim. To make it obvious, German applies a replacement rule: whenever Konjunktiv I looks like the regular present tense, we substitute it with Konjunktiv II.

Using "würden" for Most Verbs

For most action verbs, if we used their one-word Konjunktiv II form, it would look exactly like the simple past tense (Präteritum). To avoid sounding like we are talking about the past, we use the helper verb würden (would) combined with the action verb's infinitive.

Modal and Helper Verbs

If a verb has a very distinct Konjunktiv II form that stands out from the simple past, we use that single word instead of würden. This is almost always the case for modal verbs (like müssen becoming müssten or können becoming könnten) and helper verbs (like haben becoming hätten).

A Note on Formal Speech

Occasionally, in highly formal journalism, you might see regular verbs using their one-word Konjunktiv II form (which mimics the simple past) instead of würden, provided the introductory phrase makes the indirect speech completely obvious.