Breakdown of Im Oktober hat mein Schwager gesagt, wir würden nächstes Jahr im Mai vielleicht ein größeres Fest planen.
Questions & Answers about Im Oktober hat mein Schwager gesagt, wir würden nächstes Jahr im Mai vielleicht ein größeres Fest planen.
German main clauses follow the verb-second rule: the finite verb must come in the second position, but the first position can be many different things, not just the subject.
So here, Im Oktober is placed first to set the time frame, and the verb hat comes next:
Im Oktober hat mein Schwager gesagt ...
You could also say:
Mein Schwager hat im Oktober gesagt ...
That is also correct, but it puts the subject first instead of the time expression.
With months, German normally uses in plus the dative article, which is usually contracted:
- in dem → im
So:
- im Oktober
- im Mai
are the normal forms for in October and in May.
Plain in Oktober or in Mai is not standard German here.
Both are possible, but they belong to different style tendencies.
- hat gesagt = perfect tense
- sagte = simple past / preterite
In everyday spoken German, the perfect is very common for past events, so hat gesagt sounds very natural. In written narration, sagte is also common.
So this sentence could also be:
Im Oktober sagte mein Schwager, wir würden ...
but hat gesagt is especially normal in conversation.
Because mein Schwager is the subject of hat gesagt, so it is in the nominative case.
- masculine nominative: mein Schwager
- masculine accusative: meinen Schwager
If Schwager were the direct object, then you would expect meinen Schwager. But here he is the person doing the saying.
The comma separates the main reporting clause from the clause that gives the content of what was said.
- Im Oktober hat mein Schwager gesagt, ...
German requires this comma before a clause like this.
After verbs like sagen, German can introduce the content clause in two common ways:
without dass
Im Oktober hat mein Schwager gesagt, wir würden ...with dass
Im Oktober hat mein Schwager gesagt, dass wir ... planen würden.
Both are possible.
The important difference is word order:
- without dass: the clause keeps normal verb-second order
wir würden ... - with dass: the finite verb goes to the end
dass wir ... planen würden
The version without dass can feel a little more direct.
Here würden + infinitive is being used for reported speech / indirect speech.
After hat gesagt, German often shifts into a subjunctive-style form to show that these are the brother-in-law's words or idea, not the speaker's direct statement.
A big reason for using würden here is that the usual Konjunktiv I form would not be very clear:
- Konjunktiv I plural of planen: wir planen
- Indicative plural of planen: wir planen
Those look identical, so German often uses würden + infinitive instead to make the reported-speech feel clearer.
In this sentence, it can also give a future-from-a-past-viewpoint feeling: from the point of view of October, the planning was still in the future.
This is a normal German verb pattern.
- würden is the finite verb
- planen is the infinitive
In a clause with this structure, the finite verb takes the usual position near the front, and the infinitive goes to the end:
wir würden ... planen
This is a common kind of verb bracket in German.
Also, after würden, you do not use zu. So:
- correct: würden planen
- not correct: würden zu planen
German often uses a bare accusative time expression with words like dieses, letztes, and nächstes:
- dieses Jahr
- letzte Woche
- nächsten Montag
- nächstes Jahr
So nächstes Jahr does not need a preposition.
By contrast, month names usually do take one:
- im Mai
- im Oktober
German often orders time expressions from larger time unit to smaller time unit:
- year
- month
- day
- time
So nächstes Jahr im Mai is very natural: first the year, then the month.
A different order, such as im Mai nächstes Jahr, is possible, but nächstes Jahr im Mai is a very standard and neutral way to say it.
Words like vielleicht are fairly flexible in German, especially in the middle of the clause.
Here it appears after the time expressions and before the object:
wir würden nächstes Jahr im Mai vielleicht ein größeres Fest planen
That placement sounds natural and neutral.
Other positions are also possible, but the emphasis changes a bit:
- Vielleicht würden wir ...
stronger focus on the uncertainty - wir würden vielleicht ... planen
also natural, slightly different rhythm
So the sentence's position for vielleicht is just one normal option.
Fest is a neuter singular noun, and here it is the direct object of planen, so it is in the accusative case.
After ein, an adjective before a neuter accusative singular noun takes -es:
- ein großes Fest
- ein größeres Fest
So the -es ending is the correct adjective ending for this grammar pattern.
Also, größeres is the comparative form of groß:
- groß = big
- größer = bigger/larger
So ein größeres Fest means a larger celebration/event.
Because they are all nouns, and in German all nouns are capitalized.
That includes:
- people: Schwager
- things/events: Fest
- time nouns such as months: Oktober, Mai
- abstract/time words: Jahr
This is one of the biggest spelling differences between German and English.