The Konjunktiv (you may encounter it as Subjunctive in English), is a verbal mood, which ,just like the indicative mood, can be used to form senteces. In the case of Konjunktiv, the sentences can express the followings:
- the speaker only imagines the described situation
- the realization of the situation would be desirable
- the speaker hasn't directly observed the described situation, but has found out about it (from someone else).
The use of subjunctive in the German language is not limited to certain conjunctions or verbs upon which a Konjunktivsatz would depend, but rather it only expresses the relation of the speaker to the described situation. If the described situation is, in the view of the speaker, possible, uncertain, unreal a Konjunktiv is needed. It is therefore possible (and quite common), to form sentences which mix Konjunktiv forms with indicative forms (maybe at different tenses), as the following examples show:
- Ich habe gelesen, dass der Minister nach Berlin gefahren ist. (I don't doubt this piece of information).
- Ich habe gelesen, dass der Minister nach Berlin gefahren sei. (I can't guarantee that this is true)
- Hans schrieb, dass er morgen kommt. (I'm quite sure of it)
- Hans schrieb, dass er morgen komme. (I recieved his message, and I'm reporting it further)
In some sentences (that express an imaginary situation) (wishes, unreal conditionals) the Konjunktiv must be used. Another one of its uses is the indirect speech.
Forms of Konjunktiv I
1. Weak verbs
These forms can be obtained from the 1st person plural, present tense form of the verb, as the table below shows:
| Ending | (wir sagen) |
| -e | ich sag-e |
| -e-st | du sag-est |
| -e | er sag-e |
| -en | wir sag-en |
| -et | ihr sag-et |
| -en | sie sag-en |
As you can see, the forms are almost identical to the present tense, with the following exceptions:
- 3rd person singular (all verbs): er sage (konj.) - er sagt (present ind.)
- 2nd person singular - an -e- is added to all verbs at the start of the ending (unlike the present tense, where only some verbs recieve an e) (example: du sagest (konj) - du sagst (pres), but: du antwortest (both konj and pres)).
Strong verbs
Just like in the case of weak, strong verbs recieve the same endings, and can be obtained from 1st person plural present:
| Ending | (wir fahren) |
| -e | ich fahr-e |
| -e-st | du fahr-est |
| -e | er fahr-e |
| -en | wir fahr-en |
| -et | ihr fahr-et |
| -en | sie fahr-en |
As you can see, the Konjunktiv I is very easy to form (and to remebember). You simply add the correct ending to the stem of the verb, with no exceptions whatsoever.
The use of Konjunktiv I
The first subjunctive form is used to express a wish, whose realization seems possible. You will often see the verb mögen used in this way:
- Es lebe der König!/ Gott segne der König!
- Du mögest in deinen Leben Erfolg haben.
This form of Konjunktiv can even be used to express a request, which is mainly addressed at third person singular or plural(there's no imperative form for this personal form):
- Von dieser Medizin nehme man täglich dreimal drei Tropfen auf Zucker.
- Sprechen wir nicht mehr davon!
Also, K. I. can be used in a subordinate clause to indicate that the speaker does not stand up for the message transmitted:
- Paul ist nicht zum Unterricht gekommen, weil er (wie er sagte) Kopfschmerzen habe.
Another use is in final clauses, especially after damit. The situation on which these clauses depend is usually in the past:
- Der Vater gab seinem Sohn Geld, damit er sich einen Anzug kaufe.
