Breakdown of Der Zeuge sagte aus, dass jemand einen maskierten Mann gesehen habe.
ein
a, an (eine)
der Mann
the man
haben
to have
sehen
to see
jemand
someone
dass
that
der Zeuge
the witness
aussagen
to testify
maskiert
masked
Questions & Answers about Der Zeuge sagte aus, dass jemand einen maskierten Mann gesehen habe.
Why do we use gesehen habe instead of gesehen hat or gesehen hatte here?
This sentence uses indirect speech to report what the witness said. To form the past tense in Konjunktiv I, you use the Konjunktiv I form of the helping verb—in this case, habe for the third-person subject jemand (someone)—followed by the past participle gesehen.
Why is habe placed at the very end, rather than right after jemand?
The reported speech is introduced by the subordinating conjunction dass (that). This forces the conjugated verb, which is the auxiliary habe, to the very end of the clause, placing it after the past participle gesehen.
The verb is aussagen (to testify), but here it is written as sagte aus. Do separable verbs still split in the simple past?
Yes! In a main clause in the simple past (Präteritum), a separable verb still splits. The conjugated past stem sagte takes the second position, and the separable prefix aus goes to the end of that specific clause, right before the comma.
Why is the ending on the adjective maskierten instead of just maskierte?
Mann is a masculine noun acting as the direct object (accusative case) in the dass-clause. When a masculine noun is in the accusative case and follows an indefinite article like einen, the adjective must take the -en ending.
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