Breakdown of Er bittet, der Assistent möge den Entwurf irgendwie überarbeiten.
er
he
bitten
to ask, to request
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Assistent
the assistant
irgendwie
somehow
mögen
may / be asked to (in indirect requests)
der Entwurf
the draft
überarbeiten
to revise
Questions & Answers about Er bittet, der Assistent möge den Entwurf irgendwie überarbeiten.
Why do we use möge here instead of solle?
Both mögen and sollen are used in Konjunktiv I to report commands or requests. However, möge sounds much more polite and formal, turning a strict command into a courteous request. Since the main verb is bittet (asks/requests), möge fits perfectly to convey a polite tone.
Why isn't there a dass after bittet, and why isn't möge at the end of the clause?
In German, you can often drop the conjunction dass in reported speech. When you do this, the subordinate clause takes on the standard word order of a main clause, with the conjugated verb (möge) in the second position instead of being pushed to the very end. If we used dass, it would be: Er bittet, dass der Assistent den Entwurf irgendwie überarbeiten möge.
Is the verb überarbeiten separable or inseparable?
Here, überarbeiten (to revise) is inseparable. The prefix über- can be tricky because it is separable in some verbs and inseparable in others. When it means 'to revise' or 'to rework', the stress is on the root (arbeiten), making it inseparable. If this were a main clause in the present tense, you would say Er überarbeitet den Entwurf (not Er arbeitet den Entwurf über).
What exactly does irgendwie add to the sentence?
The word irgendwie means 'somehow' or 'in some way'. In this context, it suggests that the exact method or degree of the revision isn't specified by the speaker — he just wants the assistant to do something to improve or alter the draft.
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