Breakdown of Der Wissenschaftler sagt, die Prognose werde alles ändern.
sagen
to say
alles
everything
ändern
to change (modify, alter)
der Wissenschaftler
the scientist
werden
will (future auxiliary)
die Prognose
the forecast
Questions & Answers about Der Wissenschaftler sagt, die Prognose werde alles ändern.
Why is the verb werde used here instead of wird?
This is the Konjunktiv I form, which is used to indicate reported speech. Because we are reporting what the scientist said about the future, we use the Konjunktiv I form of the future tense helper verb werden. For the third-person singular (die Prognose), this form is werde.
Why isn't the conjugated verb werde at the very end of the sentence?
Because this sentence drops the connecting word dass. In reported speech, you can omit dass. When you do, the reported clause behaves like a standard main clause, keeping the conjugated verb (werde) in the second position rather than pushing it to the end.
How can I tell if werde alles ändern is future tense or passive voice?
Look at the second verb! The future tense is formed with werden plus an infinitive verb (ändern). If this were the passive voice, you would see a past participle instead of an infinitive, which would look like alles geändert werde.
Would it be wrong to use würde instead of werde in this sentence?
Usually, yes. In reported speech, you only swap in the Konjunktiv II form (würde) if the Konjunktiv I form is identical to the normal indicative present tense. Since the indicative here is wird and the Konjunktiv I is werde, they are clearly different, so we stick with werde.
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