Breakdown of Die Regie sagt, der Moderator solle reden. Inzwischen schläft der Gast ein.
sagen
to say
reden
to talk
sollen
should / ought to
der Gast
the guest
einschlafen
to fall asleep
der Moderator
the presenter, the host (of a show)
inzwischen
meanwhile
die Regie
the control room
Questions & Answers about Die Regie sagt, der Moderator solle reden. Inzwischen schläft der Gast ein.
Why does schläft come immediately after inzwischen?
Inzwischen (meanwhile) is a temporal adverb, not a subordinating conjunction. Because it occupies the first position in the second sentence, the conjugated verb schläft must immediately follow it to satisfy the German V2 (verb-second) rule.
Why is the verb solle used here instead of soll?
Solle is the Subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I) form of sollen. It is used here to indicate indirect speech (indirekte Rede), showing that we are reporting what the control room said rather than stating it as a direct fact.
Why is the word order der Moderator solle reden used instead of pushing the verb to the end?
This is a common way to form indirect speech without using the conjunction dass (that). When you drop dass, the reported clause behaves like a regular main clause, which is why the conjugated verb solle stays in the second position.
Does die Regie mean the same thing as the English word regime?
No, they are false friends. In television, film, or theater, die Regie refers to the director or the control room. A political regime would be translated as das Regime.
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