Breakdown of Sie flüstern, die Geheimgänge seien lang und dunkel.
sein
to be
und
and
sie
they
dunkel
dark
lang
long
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
flüstern
to whisper
der Geheimgang
the secret passage
Questions & Answers about Sie flüstern, die Geheimgänge seien lang und dunkel.
Why is seien used here instead of sind?
seien is the Konjunktiv I (Present Subjunctive) form of sein for the third-person plural (they). It is used here for reported speech because we are relaying what they whisper without claiming it as a direct fact. In everyday spoken German you might hear sind, but seien is proper for reporting speech, especially in writing.
Why doesn't the verb seien go to the end of the sentence?
Because the sentence drops the word dass (that). When you report speech without dass, the reported clause uses normal main clause word order, so seien stays in the second position right after the subject die Geheimgänge. If we included dass, the verb would go to the end: Sie flüstern, dass die Geheimgänge lang und dunkel seien.
Why don't the adjectives lang and dunkel have any endings here?
They are predicate adjectives, meaning they come after a form of the verb sein (to be) to describe the subject. In German, adjectives only take endings when they are placed directly in front of a noun (like die langen Geheimgänge).
What is the singular form of die Geheimgänge?
The singular is der Geheimgang. It is a compound noun made of the adjective geheim (secret) and the masculine noun der Gang (passage, corridor or hallway).
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