Word
Ist es möglich, dass ihr Bruder schläft?
Meaning
Is it possible that her brother is sleeping?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ist es möglich, dass ihr Bruder schläft?
sein
to be
es
it
schlafen
to sleep
der Bruder
the brother
Questions & Answers about Ist es möglich, dass ihr Bruder schläft?
Why is the verb schläft at the very end of the sentence?
The word dass means "that" and is a subordinating conjunction. When you use dass to connect a second idea to your main sentence, it creates a dependent clause and pushes the conjugated verb (schläft) to the very end of that clause.
Do I always need a comma before dass?
Yes. In German, you must always separate the main clause (Ist es möglich) and the subordinate clause (dass ihr Bruder schläft) with a comma. This is a strict rule, unlike in English where you usually don't use a comma before "that".
The translation says "her brother", but doesn't ihr mean "you"?
It can! The word ihr has multiple meanings. It can be the informal plural "you" (like "you all"), but here it is a possessive adjective meaning "her". It could also mean "their" brother depending on the context, but the English translation confirms it means "her" in this specific situation.
Why does the German sentence just say schläft instead of something like "ist schlafend" for "is sleeping"?
German does not have an "-ing" form (continuous tense) like English does. The simple present tense schläft translates to both "sleeps" and "is sleeping".