Breakdown of Er versprach, er werde am folgenden Tag zum Klassentreffen kommen.
er
he
kommen
to come
der Tag
the day
am
on the / at the
versprechen
to promise
werden
will (future auxiliary)
zu
to (direction, + dative)
das Klassentreffen
the class reunion
folgend
following
Questions & Answers about Er versprach, er werde am folgenden Tag zum Klassentreffen kommen.
Why does the sentence use am folgenden Tag instead of just saying morgen?
In direct speech, the person likely said, Ich werde morgen kommen (I will come tomorrow). Because the reporting happens after the fact, the concept of tomorrow no longer makes sense from the narrator's current perspective. Instead, time references must shift, so morgen becomes am folgenden Tag (on the following day) or am nächsten Tag.
Why is the verb werde used here instead of würde?
werde is the Konjunktiv I form of werden, which is the standard way to show reported speech in German. You only use the Konjunktiv II form (würde) as a fallback when the Konjunktiv I form looks exactly like the regular present tense. Since the regular present tense is er wird, the Konjunktiv I form er werde is distinct and therefore must be used.
Where is the word dass (that)? Shouldn't reported speech use a subordinate clause?
You can use dass for reported speech, but it is very common to leave it out, especially in formal writing or journalism. When you drop dass, the reported speech acts like a standard main clause, which is why the conjugated verb werde stays in the second position. If you included it, the verb would be pushed to the end: Er versprach, dass er am folgenden Tag zum Klassentreffen kommen werde.
Why does the sentence use zum for going to the class reunion?
When you talk about going to or attending a scheduled event, gathering, or location with a specific purpose (like a meeting, party, or reunion), German typically uses the preposition zu. Because Klassentreffen is a neuter noun (das), the preposition merges with the dative article dem to become zum.
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