Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

German passive + modal

"They wondered what else could be done"

I have the translation which is "Sie fragten sich, was sonst gemacht werden könnte" - I'm just curious how the last part is constructed? I understand it to be a passive but I'd be grateful if anyone could go through their thinking of how one would translate that particular part.

Happy new year :smile:

Reply 1

Octopus_Garden

I think I can break it down for you.

Firstly, the present passive is formed with werden + a past participle.

ich wird gesehen- I am (being) seen
du wirst gesehen - you are (being) seen
er/sie/es wird gesehen
wir werden gesehen
ihr werdet gesehen
Sie werden gesehen
sie werden gesehen.

So, "what is being done?" would be: ,,Was wird gemacht?"

"What could be done?" is not only a passive tense, but it is also a passive infinitive.

which is formed by combining the past participle of the verb with the infinitive werden. It is used with modal verbs.

Examples from my textbook include: er musste bezahlt werden- he had to be paid.

So, "what could be done" can be translated as "Was könnte gemacht werden?"

However, in your example, it forms the second clause, and ,,was" behaves like a subordinating conjunction, like weil when it joins sentences/clauses.

So the verbs are flipped a bit, and so it becomes: ,,was sonst gemacht werden könnte?"

If none of this makes sense, tell me, and I'll try again. I'm not very good at explaining stuff.