Word
Sie sagte aus, dass sie mit der Beute im Fluchtwagen geflohen seien.
Meaning
She stated that they had fled with the loot in the getaway car.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Sie sagte aus, dass sie mit der Beute im Fluchtwagen geflohen seien.
sein
to be
in
in
sie
they
mit
with
Questions & Answers about Sie sagte aus, dass sie mit der Beute im Fluchtwagen geflohen seien.
Why is seien used here instead of hätten for the past tense reported speech?
The verb fliehen (to flee) expresses movement from one place to another, so it takes the helping verb sein rather than haben in perfect tenses. In reported speech (Konjunktiv I), we use the Konjunktiv I forms of the helping verbs. Therefore, sind becomes seien.
The sentence starts with Sie sagte aus and then says dass sie... How do we know the second sie means 'they' and not 'she'?
The verb at the very end gives it away. seien is the plural form matching 'they' (or formal 'you'). If she were talking only about herself ('She stated that she had fled'), it would use the singular form sei.
What is the difference between sagen and aussagen?
aussagen specifically means to testify, make a formal statement (often to the police or in court), or to declare. sagen is just the general word for 'to say'.
Why is it im Fluchtwagen (dative) rather than accusative? Aren't they moving?