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### 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.

{{item:873760}}

### 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**.

{{item:873761}}

### 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!

{{item:873763}}

To ask a yes/no question, simply move the conjugated modal verb to the very beginning of the sentence.

{{item:873765}}

### 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.

{{item:873766}}

{{item:873779}}

Passive voice with modal verbs (muss ... werden)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
to renovate	renovieren
The apartment urgently needs to be renovated.	Die Wohnung muss dringend renoviert werden.
The boss says that the office has to be renovated.	Der Chef sagt, dass das Büro renoviert werden muss.
to wallpaper	tapezieren
When can the living room be wallpapered?	Wann kann das Wohnzimmer tapeziert werden?
the wallpaper	die Tapete
Does this wallpaper really have to be bought?	Muss diese Tapete wirklich gekauft werden?
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 tile	die Fliese
to lay (flooring/tiles)	verlegen
The tiles have to be laid in the bathroom.	Die Fliesen müssen im Bad verlegt werden.
Where should these tiles be laid?	Wo sollen diese Fliesen verlegt werden?
the hole	das Loch
to drill	bohren
May a hole be drilled here?	Darf hier ein Loch gebohrt werden?
the power outlet	die Steckdose
A hole has to be drilled for the power outlet.	Für die Steckdose muss ein Loch gebohrt werden.
to mount / to assemble	montieren
The new power outlet can be mounted tomorrow.	Die neue Steckdose kann morgen montiert werden.
to furnish	einrichten
The furniture has to be assembled before the room can be furnished.	Die Möbel müssen montiert werden, bevor das Zimmer eingerichtet werden kann.
The house was bought yesterday and should be furnished now.	Das Haus wurde gestern gekauft und soll jetzt eingerichtet werden.