Breakdown of Man sagt, der Hersteller habe den Rückruf zu spät organisiert.
haben
to have
sagen
to say
zu
too (e.g., too big)
spät
late
man
one / you (impersonal)
organisieren
to organize
der Hersteller
the manufacturer
der Rückruf
the recall
Questions & Answers about Man sagt, der Hersteller habe den Rückruf zu spät organisiert.
Why is it habe instead of hat here?
Because this is reported speech (indirect speech). The word habe is in the present subjunctive form (Konjunktiv I). Using habe instead of the normal present tense hat shows that you are just reporting what other people say, without confirming if it is actually true.
The English translation says "organized" (past tense), so why does the German sentence use the present subjunctive habe?
In German reported speech, you express the past tense by combining the present subjunctive of the helping verb (habe) with the past participle at the end of the sentence (organisiert). So habe ... organisiert is the reported version of the conversational past tense hat ... organisiert.
Why does the sentence use Man sagt if the English translation is "They say"?
The German pronoun man is used for general, unspecified people, much like "one" or "people" in English. When English speakers say "They say" to mean a general rumor or public opinion, German uses Man sagt. You would not use sie (they) here unless you meant a specific, known group of people.
Can I use dass (that) to connect the two parts of this sentence?
Yes, you could say Man sagt, dass der Hersteller den Rückruf zu spät organisiert habe. Notice that if you add dass, it acts as a subordinating conjunction and pushes the conjugated verb habe to the very end of the sentence. Leaving dass out is very common in reported speech and lets you keep the normal word order.
Learn Man sagt, der Hersteller habe den Rückruf zu spät organisiert 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