Learn Hardcore German: Die Leiterin sagt, alle seien anwesend und das Meeting beginne pünktlich. - The female leader says everyone is present and the meeting begins on time.

seien = Konjunktiv I of sein (to be), 3rd person plural.
beginne = Konjunktiv I of beginnen (to begin), 3rd person singular. German uses Konjunktiv I to mark that the speaker is reporting someone else’s words without asserting them as their own.

Why not use the indicative sind and beginnt?

You can, especially in everyday conversation: Die Leiterin sagt, alle sind anwesend und das Meeting beginnt pünktlich. However, formal German prefers Konjunktiv I in indirect speech to make the “reported” status explicit and avoid ambiguity. Journalistic and official writing strongly favors seien and beginne here.

Why is the verb second in alle seien anwesend and das Meeting beginne pünktlich instead of at the end?

Because these are that-less indirect statements (indirect speech without dass) that keep main-clause word order (verb-second). If you introduce them with dass, the finite verb goes to the end:

Die Leiterin sagt, dass alle anwesend seien und dass das Meeting pünktlich beginne.

Can I rewrite it with dass? What changes?

Yes:

Die Leiterin sagt, dass alle anwesend seien und (dass) das Meeting pünktlich beginne. With dass, the verb is clause-final. The mood (Konjunktiv I) stays the same. Repeating dass before the second clause is optional.

Why is it seien and not sei?

Because the subject alle is plural. Konjunktiv I of sein:

Singular: ich sei, du seiest, er/sie/es sei
Plural: wir seien, ihr seiet, sie seien So with alle, you need seien (3rd person plural).

What are the relevant Konjunktiv I forms for sein and beginnen?

sein: ich sei, du seiest, er/sie/es sei, wir seien, ihr seiet, sie seien
beginnen: ich beginne, du beginnest, er/sie/es beginne, wir beginnen, ihr beginnet, sie beginnen In the sentence you see seien (3rd pl.) and beginne (3rd sg.).

When would I use Konjunktiv II (wären, begänne or würde beginnen) instead?

When the Konjunktiv I form is identical to the indicative and you want to avoid ambiguity.
To signal distance/doubt regarding the reported content. For example: Er sagte, alle wären anwesend can imply the reporter’s skepticism. For many verbs, especially in speech, würde + Infinitiv is preferred: das Meeting würde pünktlich beginnen. Note that begänne (Konjunktiv II simple) exists but sounds formal/literary.

Does German backshift tenses in indirect speech like English does?

No. German typically keeps the original tense (relative to the time of speaking). Even after a past reporting verb, Konjunktiv I keeps the present if the original was present:

Direct: Sie: Das Meeting beginnt pünktlich.
Indirect (past report): Sie sagte, das Meeting beginne pünktlich.

Why is sagt (present) used rather than sagte (preterite)?

Both are possible. sagt presents it as a current statement; sagte frames it as a past report. The choice doesn’t force a tense change in the reported content in German; you still normally use Konjunktiv I: Sie sagte, alle seien anwesend …

How does und connect the two reported clauses here? Do I need to repeat anything?

und simply coordinates two parallel reported clauses: alle seien anwesend + das Meeting beginne pünktlich. You neither repeat the reporting verb (sagt) nor need to add dass. Both coordinated clauses stay in Konjunktiv I.

Why is there a comma after sagt but not before und?

The comma after sagt separates the reporting clause from the reported content.
No comma is used before und when it links two coordinated clauses here. A comma before und is generally avoided in German and only inserted in special clarity cases; it is not needed in this sentence.

What exactly does Leiterin mean?

Leiterin is a female head/manager/supervisor. The masculine form is Leiter. Be careful: die Leiter (with feminine article) also means “ladder” (a different word), so die Leiterin (female leader) vs. die Leiter (the ladder).

Is Meeting standard German? What is its gender? Are there native alternatives?

Yes, das Meeting (neuter) is common in business contexts. Native alternatives include die Besprechung or die Sitzung, which often sound more formal or more “German” than the anglicism.

Why is Meeting capitalized, but pünktlich and anwesend are not?

German capitalizes all nouns (Meeting, Leiterin). Adjectives and adverbs (pünktlich, anwesend) are not capitalized unless they start a sentence or are part of a proper noun.

What role does pünktlich play, and where does it go?

pünktlich is an adverb (“on time, punctually”). In a verb-second clause like das Meeting beginne pünktlich, it typically appears in the middle field after the subject and finite verb. Other placements are possible for emphasis, but this is the neutral order.

Could I front pünktlich for emphasis, e.g., Pünktlich beginne das Meeting?

Yes, fronting for emphasis is possible, especially in formal or rhetorical styles. It sounds elevated or marked. The neutral, everyday order is Das Meeting beginne pünktlich (or in indicative: Das Meeting beginnt pünktlich).

Could I present this as direct speech with a colon?

Yes: Die Leiterin sagt: Alle sind anwesend und das Meeting beginnt pünktlich. Direct speech reports the exact wording (indicative), often with quotation marks. The original sentence uses indirect speech (Konjunktiv I) to report content without a direct quote.

Does alle always mean “everyone”? Anything to watch out for?

alle is a plural pronoun meaning “all (of them)” or “everyone” referring to a known group. It takes a plural verb (hence seien). Don’t confuse it with alles (“everything,” neuter singular) or with alle Leute (“all people”), which is more explicit but often unnecessary when the group is clear.