Breakdown of Der Regisseur behauptet, das Drehbuch ist überhaupt nicht vorhersehbar.
sein
to be
der Regisseur
the director
überhaupt nicht
not at all (emphatic)
behaupten
to claim
Questions & Answers about Der Regisseur behauptet, das Drehbuch ist überhaupt nicht vorhersehbar.
Why is the verb ist in the middle of the second clause instead of at the end?
This is a subordinate clause without dass. Verbs of saying and thinking, like behaupten (to claim), can drop the word dass. When you drop dass, the clause uses standard main clause word order, meaning the conjugated verb (ist) stays in the second position rather than moving to the end.
How would this sentence look if we included the word dass?
It would be: Der Regisseur behauptet, dass das Drehbuch überhaupt nicht vorhersehbar ist. Adding dass forces the conjugated verb (ist) to the very end of the sentence, which is the standard rule for subordinate clauses.
Since the director is making a claim, shouldn't this use indirect speech (Konjunktiv I)?
In formal written German or news reports, you would indeed see the Konjunktiv I form here: ... das Drehbuch sei überhaupt nicht vorhersehbar. However, in everyday spoken German, people frequently use the regular indicative mood (ist).
How is the word vorhersehbar (predictable) formed?
It is built from three parts: vorher (before or in advance), the verb root seh (from sehen, to see), and the suffix -bar (which works exactly like the English suffix '-able'). It literally translates to 'fore-see-able'.