Breakdown of Der Kommilitone, der den Geheimgang sucht, soll verrückt sein.
sein
to be
suchen
to look for
verrückt
crazy
sollen
should / ought to
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Kommilitone
the fellow student
der Geheimgang
the secret passage
Questions & Answers about Der Kommilitone, der den Geheimgang sucht, soll verrückt sein.
Why does this sentence use soll ... sein instead of the Konjunktiv I form sei?
While sei (Konjunktiv I) is usually used to report what someone explicitly said, using the modal verb sollen expresses a general rumor or hearsay. Er soll verrückt sein translates to 'He is said to be crazy' or 'Supposedly, he is crazy,' rather than reporting a specific person's quote. It is a very common alternative to Konjunktiv I when talking about rumors.
Why are there two ders right next to each other in Der Kommilitone, der...?
The first Der is the regular definite article 'the' for Kommilitone. The second der is a relative pronoun meaning 'who', which starts the relative clause der den Geheimgang sucht. They happen to sit next to each other and look identical because the masculine nominative relative pronoun shares the same form as the definite article.
Is a Kommilitone related to the military?
It looks like it, but a Kommilitone is simply a fellow university student. It originally comes from a Latin word for 'fellow soldier,' but in modern German, it strictly refers to classmates at a university. Also, note that it is a weak noun (n-declension), so it takes an -n ending in most other cases, like the accusative den Kommilitonen.
Why is sein at the very end of the sentence?
This is due to the modal verb soll. In a main clause, the conjugated modal verb (soll) takes the second position, and the infinitive verb (sein) is pushed to the very end of the sentence. The relative clause (der den Geheimgang sucht) is just inserted in the middle, delaying the end of the main sentence.
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