Breakdown of Der Präsident behauptete, man habe ihn gezwungen und das Geld gefordert.
und
and
haben
to have
das Geld
the money
ihn
him
man
one / you (impersonal)
der Präsident
the president
behaupten
to claim
fordern
to demand (formally, to claim)
zwingen
to force
Questions & Answers about Der Präsident behauptete, man habe ihn gezwungen und das Geld gefordert.
Why does the reported speech use habe gezwungen rather than a regular past tense?
Because this is indirect speech reporting an event that happened in the past. To form the past tense in Konjunktiv I, you use the Konjunktiv I form of the helping verb (here, habe) plus the past participle (gezwungen). This shows we are neutrally reporting the president's claim.
Why isn't the verb at the end of the reported speech clause? Shouldn't it be '..., dass man ihn gezwungen habe'?
You could absolutely write it with dass, which would push the conjugated verb habe to the end. However, German frequently drops dass in reported speech. When dass is omitted, the reported clause uses standard main clause word order, placing the verb in the second position.
Where is the helping verb for gefordert at the end of the sentence?
It is shared with the first part of the clause! The full thought is man habe ihn gezwungen und man habe das Geld gefordert. Because the subject (man) and the helping verb (habe) are the same for both actions, German lets you drop them in the second half to make the sentence flow better.
Why is man translated as 'they' here instead of 'one'?
The German pronoun man is used for unspecified people in general. While 'one' is the literal translation, it often sounds too formal or unnatural in everyday English. Depending on the context, man is usually better translated as 'you', 'they', or 'people'. Here, 'they' perfectly captures the idea of an unnamed group who made the demands.
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