Word
L'aluminium ne peut pas être broyé dans ces bennes.
Meaning
Aluminum cannot be shredded in these dumpsters.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of L'aluminium ne peut pas être broyé dans ces bennes.
être
to be
dans
in, inside
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
Questions & Answers about L'aluminium ne peut pas être broyé dans ces bennes.
How is the passive voice structured with the modal verb peut in this sentence?
The modal verb pouvoir is conjugated to match the subject (peut), and it is followed by the passive infinitive. The passive infinitive is simply the infinitive être (to be) plus the past participle broyé (shredded). This directly mirrors the English structure "can be shredded."
Does the past participle broyé need to agree with the subject here?
Yes. In the passive voice, the past participle always agrees in gender and number with the subject, even when it is attached to an infinitive être after a modal verb. Here, L'aluminium is masculine singular, so broyé takes no extra endings. If the subject were feminine, like La canette (the can), it would be être broyée.
Why does the negation ne ... pas wrap around peut instead of the whole verb phrase?
In French, the two parts of standard negation (ne and pas) wrap around the conjugated verb. Because peut is the only conjugated verb in this sentence, it gets surrounded. The passive infinitive phrase être broyé comes after the negation is complete.
The verb is broyer (to shred). Why doesn't the y change to an i in the past participle broyé?