Breakdown of Nachdem das Auto eine Panne gehabt hatte, sind wir zu Fuß gegangen.
sein
to be
ein
a, an (eine)
haben
to have
das Auto
the car
wir
we
zu Fuß gehen
to go on foot, to walk
nachdem
after
die Panne
the breakdown
Questions & Answers about Nachdem das Auto eine Panne gehabt hatte, sind wir zu Fuß gegangen.
Why do we use gehabt hatte right next to each other? Doesn't that translate to "had had"?
Yes, it literally means "had had"! The Past Perfect (Plusquamperfekt) is formed with the simple past of a helper verb (here, hatte) plus the past participle of the main verb. The phrase for having a breakdown is eine Panne haben, so its past participle is gehabt. Put them together, and you get gehabt hatte. Because it is in a nachdem clause, both of these verbs get pushed to the very end.
Why is the first half of the sentence in the Past Perfect, but the second half is in the regular Perfect tense (sind ... gegangen)?
The word nachdem (after) tells us that one action happened completely before another. In German, when you talk about the past and use nachdem, you must use the Past Perfect for the earlier action (the car breaking down). The later action (walking on foot) then goes into the regular Perfect or Simple Past tense.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with sind instead of wir?
In German, the conjugated verb must sit in the second position of a main clause. The entire first part of the sentence (Nachdem das Auto eine Panne gehabt hatte) counts as block number one! To keep the main verb in the second position, sind must come right after the comma, swapping places with the subject wir.
Quick refresher: Why is it sind ... gegangen instead of haben ... gegangen?
The verb gehen (to go/walk) describes a physical movement from one place to another. In German, verbs that express motion or a change of state always build their perfect tenses with forms of sein (to be) rather than haben (to have).
What exactly is eine Panne?
Die Panne specifically refers to a mechanical breakdown, a flat tire, or a sudden hitch. When a vehicle breaks down on the side of the road, the standard way to express this in German is to say you have eine Panne.
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