Breakdown of Der Forscher sagt, der Roboter werde aufräumen, bevor wir reinkommen.
kommen
to come
wir
we
sagen
to say
aufräumen
to clean up / to tidy
werden
will (future auxiliary)
bevor
before
der Roboter
the robot
rein
in (adverb, inward)
der Forscher
the researcher
Questions & Answers about Der Forscher sagt, der Roboter werde aufräumen, bevor wir reinkommen.
Why use werde here instead of wird?
Because this is reported speech, we use Konjunktiv I. For the third-person singular (der Roboter), the Konjunktiv I form of the future auxiliary werden is werde. If we used wird, it would be the regular indicative, making it sound like an established fact rather than a claim made by the researcher.
Why is werde in the second position? Shouldn't a reported speech clause have the verb at the end?
Normally, reported speech starts with dass (that), which kicks the conjugated verb to the end of the clause. However, if you drop dass, the reported clause acts like a normal main clause. That is why the conjugated verb werde takes position two, and the infinitive aufräumen goes to the end of that clause.
If der Roboter werde aufräumen is in the future tense, why is the final clause bevor wir reinkommen in the present tense?
Just like in English (before we come in), German commonly uses the present tense to express the future in time clauses, such as those starting with bevor or wenn. Saying bevor wir reinkommen werden would sound clunky and unnatural.
Is reinkommen a real verb, or just slang for hereinkommen?
It is a standard, highly common colloquial abbreviation. In everyday spoken German, directional prefixes like herein- (in towards the speaker) and hinein- (in away from the speaker) are frequently shortened to just rein-. At a B2 level, it is perfectly fine to use this in speech and informal writing.
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