Breakdown of Drittens sagte der Chef, dass wir vierzig Prioritäten hätten.
haben
to have
wir
we
sagen
to say
der Chef
the boss (male)
Questions & Answers about Drittens sagte der Chef, dass wir vierzig Prioritäten hätten.
How does the word drittens affect the word order in this sentence?
Drittens is an adverb meaning thirdly. Because it occupies the first position in the sentence, the conjugated verb sagte must come immediately after it in the second position, pushing the subject der Chef to the third position.
Can I use das Dritte instead of drittens to mean the same thing?
No, das Dritte is a noun or adjective meaning the third one. Drittens is an adverb specifically used for listing points in an argument or sequence. You create these enumeration adverbs by adding the suffix -ens to the ordinal number, giving us erstens, zweitens, and drittens.
Why is hätten used instead of haben in the second half of the sentence?
The sentence uses indirect speech to relay what the boss said. Normally, indirect speech uses Konjunktiv I. However, for wir, the Konjunktiv I form is haben, which is identical to the regular present tense. To make it mathematically clear that this is still reported speech and not a stated fact, German shifts to the Konjunktiv II form, hätten.
How do we know the plural of Priorität takes an -en ending?