Breakdown of Mein Kommilitone sagt, das Mittagessen in der Mensa sei giftig.
sein
to be
in
in
sagen
to say
mein
my
das Mittagessen
the lunch
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
giftig
toxic
der Kommilitone
the fellow student
die Mensa
the cafeteria
Questions & Answers about Mein Kommilitone sagt, das Mittagessen in der Mensa sei giftig.
Why is it sei instead of ist?
The word sei is the Konjunktiv I (Subjunctive I) form of sein for "he/she/it". We use it here for reported speech to show that we are just repeating what the fellow student said. By using sei, you subtly distance yourself from the claim—you're not confirming the lunch is actually poisonous, just that this is what your classmate believes!
Since this is reported speech, shouldn't the verb sei go to the end of the sentence?
It would go to the end if we used the conjunction dass (that). In German reported speech, it's very common to drop dass. When you drop it, the reported sentence uses standard main-clause word order, so the verb sei takes the second position: ... das Mittagessen in der Mensa sei giftig. If we kept the conjunction, it would be: ... dass das Mittagessen in der Mensa giftig sei.
What exactly is a Kommilitone?
A Kommilitone is a fellow university student or college classmate. It's a specific term used only in higher education. If you were in grade school or high school, your classmate would instead be a Mitschüler.
Is Mensa the standard word for any cafeteria?
No, Mensa specifically refers to a university or school cafeteria. If you are talking about a cafeteria at a normal company workplace, you would call it a Kantine.
Learn Mein Kommilitone sagt, das Mittagessen in der Mensa sei giftig and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free