Breakdown of Der Betrüger will die Unterschrift nicht gefälscht und das Opfer nicht betrogen haben.
und
and
haben
to have
nicht
not
wollen
to want
der Betrüger
the scammer
das Opfer
the victim
die Unterschrift
the signature
fälschen
to forge
betrügen
to scam
Questions & Answers about Der Betrüger will die Unterschrift nicht gefälscht und das Opfer nicht betrogen haben.
Why does the sentence use will when the English translation says claims?
This is the subjective use of the modal verb wollen. While wollen normally means to want, combining it with a past action (a perfect infinitive) changes its meaning. Here, it shows that the subject is making a claim about themselves, often when the speaker is skeptical. So, Der Betrüger will... translates to The fraudster claims... or The fraudster wants us to believe...
Why is there only one haben at the very end of the sentence?
German often drops repeated helper verbs when connecting two similar phrases with und to make the sentence flow better. The full thought is die Unterschrift nicht gefälscht haben und das Opfer nicht betrogen haben, but the first haben is left out. The single haben at the end supports both past participles (gefälscht and betrogen).
How do we form the structure for claims to have done something in the past?
You use the modal verb (will) in the present tense, and push the past action to the end of the sentence using a perfect infinitive. A perfect infinitive is just a past participle (gefälscht) plus the dictionary form of its helper verb (haben). Together, will ... gefälscht haben means claims to have forged.
Why does nicht appear twice in this sentence?
Because there are two separate actions being denied, and both need to be negated. The nicht is placed right before each past participle to specifically negate those exact actions: nicht gefälscht (not forged) and nicht betrogen (not defrauded).
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