Breakdown of Mein Chef sagt, das Thema sei eilig.
Questions & Answers about Mein Chef sagt, das Thema sei eilig.
Subjunctive I is a verb mood used primarily for reported speech. It signals that you’re repeating another person’s words rather than endorsing them. To form it:
• Take the infinitive stem (drop ‑en from the infinitive).
• Add the Subjunctive I endings:
• ich sei, du seist, er/sie/es sei
• wir seien, ihr seiet, sie/Sie seien
Yes. You can make it explicit:
Mein Chef sagt, dass das Thema eilig sei.
The comma stays, and the finite verb sei remains at the end. Including dass does not affect the use of Subjunctive I.
When sagen introduces a content clause (like …, dass … or with Subjunktiv I), the dative object is optional. Both of these are correct:
• Mein Chef sagt mir, dass das Thema eilig sei.
• Mein Chef sagt, dass das Thema eilig sei.
The second simply omits the indirect object.
Both can mean “urgent,” but:
• eilig emphasizes time pressure—“we need to hurry.”
• dringend stresses necessity or high importance—“this really must be done.”
They often overlap, but dringend generally feels a bit stronger.