Breakdown of Der Trainer sagte, die Entfernung vom Park bis zum See sei nur einen Kilometer.
sein
to be
zu
to
der Park
the park
sagen
to say
nur
only
bis
until
von
from
der See
the lake
der Trainer
the coach
die Entfernung
the distance
ein
one
der Kilometer
the kilometre
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Questions & Answers about Der Trainer sagte, die Entfernung vom Park bis zum See sei nur einen Kilometer.
Why is sei used instead of ist, and what does it tell me?
Sei is the 3rd-person singular Konjunktiv I form of sein. In German, when you report someone’s words indirectly (reported speech), you normally use Konjunktiv I to show that you’re quoting or paraphrasing rather than stating it as your own fact. If you used ist, you’d switch to the indicative mood, which sounds like you’re asserting the distance yourself rather than relaying the trainer’s statement.
What exactly is Konjunktiv I, and how is it formed (especially for sein)?
Konjunktiv I is the mood used for indirect (reported) speech. Formation rules for most verbs in the present are:
- Take the infinitive stem
- Add endings: –e, –est, –e, –en, –et, –en
For sein, the paradigm is irregular:
• ich sei
• du sei(e)st
• er/sie/es sei
• wir seien
• ihr seiet
• sie/Sie seien
In our sentence, sei is the er/sie/es-form.
Why isn’t there a dass after sagte, and how would adding dass change the sentence?
In German reported speech you can either introduce a subordinate clause with dass (and put the verb at the end) or you can omit dass completely and use Konjunktiv I in a “bare” indirect clause.
- Without dass (as in your sentence), you keep a comma and use verb-second word order:
Der Trainer sagte, die Entfernung … sei nur einen Kilometer. - With dass, you would write a proper subordinate clause and place the verb at the end (you can still keep Konjunktiv I):
Der Trainer sagte, dass die Entfernung vom Park bis zum See nur einen Kilometer sei.
Why is the verb sei placed directly after die Entfernung rather than at the end of the clause?
Because in a bare indirect clause (no dass), German treats it like a main clause for word-order purposes: the finite verb comes in second position. If you had used dass, it would be a standard subordinate clause and the verb would go to the very end.
Why does the sentence start with die Entfernung? Isn’t Entfernung an abstract noun that English would drop the article for?
German almost always requires an article (definite or indefinite) in front of nouns, even abstract ones. English often says “distance,” but in German you say die Entfernung unless you’re in a headline or very telegraphic context.
What do vom and bis zum mean, and why are they in the dative case?
- vom is the contraction of von
- dem (dative).
- zum is the contraction of zu
- dem (dative).
Together, von … bis expresses a range (“from … to”). In this fixed expression both sides take the dative when you use the articles.
- dem (dative).
Why is it einen Kilometer (accusative), not ein or einem Kilometer?
This is a widerstands-/Maßangabe (measure expression) using the accusative to indicate extent—just like Er ist einen Meter groß or das Auto fährt hundert Kilometer pro Stunde. Even though sein normally links to nominative predicates, distance or measure phrases are handled as accusative of measure.