Breakdown of Der Kunde sagt, sie solle die Rückmeldung für den Entwurf überprüfen.
sie
she
sagen
to say
für
for
sollen
should / ought to
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Kunde
the customer
überprüfen
to check
der Entwurf
the draft
die Rückmeldung
the feedback
Questions & Answers about Der Kunde sagt, sie solle die Rückmeldung für den Entwurf überprüfen.
Why do we use solle here instead of soll or sollte?
solle is the Konjunktiv I form of sollen. In reported speech, when you are reporting a direct command or request, you use sollen or mögen in Konjunktiv I to convey that it was an instruction from someone else.
What would the customer's original, direct command have looked like?
The customer likely used an imperative (command) form, such as Überprüfen Sie die Rückmeldung! When shifting a direct command into indirect speech, German requires the addition of a modal verb like sollen to keep the feeling of an order.
There is no dass (that) in the second half of the sentence. How does that affect the word order?
When you drop dass in reported speech, the reported clause behaves structurally like a normal main clause. The conjugated verb (solle) sits in the second position, and the infinitive (überprüfen) goes to the very end. If we used dass, all verbs would be at the end: Der Kunde sagt, dass sie die Rückmeldung für den Entwurf überprüfen solle.
Could I say Rückmeldung zum Entwurf instead of für den Entwurf?
Yes, both are perfectly fine and common in business German. Rückmeldung zu translates closely to 'feedback on' or 'feedback regarding' the draft, while Rückmeldung für means 'feedback for' the draft.
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