Breakdown of Sie sagten, sie seien schon in der Woche zuvor dort gewesen.
sein
to be
in
in
sie
they
sagen
to say
Questions & Answers about Sie sagten, sie seien schon in der Woche zuvor dort gewesen.
Why does the sentence use in der Woche zuvor instead of something like letzte Woche?
This is a classic time shift in reported speech. In direct speech, the original speakers likely said letzte Woche (last week). However, because the person reporting the speech is speaking at a later time, letzte Woche no longer applies to their present. It must shift to in der Woche zuvor (the week before) to maintain the correct relative timeline.
Could the original speakers have used hier instead of dort?
Yes! This is a spatial shift. In direct speech, they probably said Wir sind schon letzte Woche hier gewesen (We were already here last week). If the person reporting the speech is no longer at that location, the perspective changes, and hier (here) shifts to dort (there).
Why is the verb form seien ... gewesen used here instead of waren?
This is the Konjunktiv I (Subjunctive I) past tense, which B2 learners use to distance themselves and clearly mark indirect speech. The original direct quote was in the past tense (likely wir waren or wir sind ... gewesen). To report a past event using Konjunktiv I, you use the present subjunctive of the auxiliary verb (seien) plus the past participle (gewesen).
In direct speech, what pronoun did the speakers use instead of the second sie?