Breakdown of Der Kritiker sagt, der Film ist überbewertet.
sein
to be
sagen
to say
der Film
the movie / the film
der Kritiker
the critic
überbewertet
overrated
Questions & Answers about Der Kritiker sagt, der Film ist überbewertet.
Why is the verb ist in the second position instead of at the end of the clause?
This sentence is using a subordinate clause without dass. When you drop dass after verbs of saying or thinking, the subordinate clause takes normal main clause word order (Verb-Second). If you kept the conjunction, the verb would be kicked to the end: Der Kritiker sagt, dass der Film überbewertet ist.
Do I still need the comma even though the word dass is missing?
Yes! In German, you must always separate the main clause (Der Kritiker sagt) from the subordinate clause with a comma, even when the conjunction is dropped.
Since this is reported speech, shouldn't the verb be sei (Konjunktiv I) instead of ist?
You can absolutely use the Konjunktiv I here (... der Film sei überbewertet) for formal reported speech, such as in a newspaper. However, in everyday spoken German, people frequently use the standard indicative mood (ist), especially in these types of clauses without dass.
Why doesn't the past participle überbewertet have a -ge- in it?
It comes from the verb überbewerten (to overrate). The prefix über- can be separable or inseparable depending on the verb. Here it is inseparable, and verbs with inseparable prefixes do not take a -ge- when forming the past participle.
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