Breakdown of Er sagt, der Hersteller müsse den Rückruf wegen der Unfälle anfangen.
er
he
sagen
to say
müssen
to have to, must
anfangen
to start
der Unfall
the accident
wegen
because of
der Hersteller
the manufacturer
der Rückruf
the recall
Questions & Answers about Er sagt, der Hersteller müsse den Rückruf wegen der Unfälle anfangen.
Why is müsse used here instead of muss?
müsse is the Konjunktiv I (Present Subjunctive) form of müssen. It is used here for reported speech because we are stating what someone else said (Er sagt...). For the third-person singular (der Hersteller), this form is made by adding an -e to the infinitive stem.
Why is the verb müsse in the second position? Shouldn't reported speech put the verb at the end?
You are likely thinking of a dass (that) clause, which would push the verb to the end: Er sagt, dass der Hersteller... anfangen müsse. When you drop the word dass in reported speech, the clause uses normal main-clause word order instead.
What case is der Unfälle after wegen?
It is in the genitive case. The preposition wegen (because of) requires the genitive case in standard written German. der Unfälle is the genitive plural form of der Unfall (the accident). In casual spoken German, you might sometimes hear the dative case used instead, but the genitive is the proper written standard.
Why isn't the separable verb anfangen split up here?
While anfangen (to start) usually splits (like Er fängt an), it stays together in its infinitive form when used with another verb like a modal. Here, the conjugated verb müsse takes the second position, pushing the full infinitive anfangen to the very end of the sentence.
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