The passive voice with modal verbs
When renovating an apartment, you will often need to state what must, can, or should be done. You can express this by combining a modal verb (like müssen, können, sollen, or dürfen) with the passive voice.
In a standard main clause, the conjugated modal verb takes the second position. The main verb's past participle and the infinitive werden are pushed to the very end of the sentence, stacking up in that exact order.
| The apartment urgently needs to be renovated. | Die Wohnung muss dringend renoviert werden. |
Word order with "dass"
When you use a subordinating conjunction like dass (that), the conjugated modal verb is pushed to the very end of the clause. It lands right after the past participle and werden.
| The boss says that the office has to be renovated. | Der Chef sagt, dass das Büro renoviert werden muss. |
Asking questions
For a question with a question word (like wann or wo), start with the question word, followed immediately by the conjugated modal verb. The past participle and werden stay together at the end of the sentence!
| When can the living room be wallpapered? | Wann kann das Wohnzimmer tapeziert werden? |
To ask a yes/no question, simply move the conjugated modal verb to the very beginning of the sentence.
| Does this wallpaper really have to be bought? | Muss diese Tapete wirklich gekauft werden? |
More conjunctions: "weil" and "bevor"
Other subordinating conjunctions like weil (because) and bevor (before) follow the exact same rule as dass. They send the conjugated modal verb to the absolute end of the sentence.
| The wallpaper has to be bought today because the room is supposed to be wallpapered. | Die Tapete muss heute gekauft werden, weil das Zimmer tapeziert werden soll. |
| The furniture has to be assembled before the room can be furnished. | Die Möbel müssen montiert werden, bevor das Zimmer eingerichtet werden kann. |