Breakdown of Die Leute glauben, sie könnten in die Verwaltung investieren und trotzdem die Steuer senken.
und
and
in
in
sie
they
die Leute
the people
können
can / to be able to
glauben
to believe
trotzdem
nevertheless
die Steuer
the tax
senken
to lower
investieren
to invest
die Verwaltung
the administration
Questions & Answers about Die Leute glauben, sie könnten in die Verwaltung investieren und trotzdem die Steuer senken.
Why is könnten (Konjunktiv II) used here instead of Konjunktiv I for reported speech?
This is the replacement rule in action. Normally, you use Konjunktiv I for reported speech. However, the Konjunktiv I form of können for sie (they) is können, which is identical to the normal present tense. To make it obvious that this is a reported belief and not a hard fact, German substitutes the identical form with the Konjunktiv II form: könnten.
Why isn't there a dass (that) after glauben?
In German reported speech, you can often drop dass. When you do, the reported clause uses normal main clause word order, meaning the conjugated verb (könnten) stays in the second position. If you included dass, the verb would be pushed to the end: Die Leute glauben, dass sie in die Verwaltung investieren und trotzdem die Steuer senken könnten.
Does the modal verb könnten apply to both actions in the second half of the sentence?
Yes, it applies to both investieren (invest) and senken (lower). The underlying thought is sie könnten investieren und sie könnten senken. Just like in English, German lets you drop the repeated subject and modal verb after und to make the sentence flow better.
Why do we use the accusative in die Verwaltung instead of the dative?
The verb investieren is paired with the two-way preposition in followed by the accusative case. Even though it might feel like you are investing money inside a static place, German treats investing as a directed action of putting resources into a target, which triggers the accusative.
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