Breakdown of Er sagt, derjenige, der das Telefon gekauft hat, könne die Entschädigung im Internet beantragen.
er
he
kaufen
to buy
haben
to have
sagen
to say
können
can / to be able to
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
das Internet
the internet
das Telefon
the telephone
beantragen
to apply for
derjenige
the one (m)
die Entschädigung
the compensation
Questions & Answers about Er sagt, derjenige, der das Telefon gekauft hat, könne die Entschädigung im Internet beantragen.
Why do we use könne instead of kann here?
Because this is reported speech introduced by Er sagt. To show we are just repeating what someone else said, German uses the Konjunktiv I (Present Subjunctive) form. For the third-person singular of können, this form is könne.
What is derjenige and why is it used with der?
derjenige means 'the one' or 'that person'. It is almost always followed by a relative clause to specify which person you mean. Here, derjenige, der translates to 'the one who'. Both words are in the nominative case because they are the subjects of their respective clauses.
Why does the verb könne come right after the comma?
In a main clause, the conjugated verb must be in position 2. The subject of the main clause is derjenige. The relative clause (der das Telefon gekauft hat) just temporarily interrupts to describe that subject. Once the interruption is over, we immediately need our position 2 verb, which is könne.
Why do we say im Internet instead of a direct translation of 'on the internet'?
German uses the preposition in for the internet, rather than 'on' or 'auf'. Because we are answering 'where?' (a static location), it takes the dative case. The word Internet is neuter, so in combines with the dative article dem to form the contraction im.
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