Breakdown of Nachdem das Erdbeben passiert war, wurde der Schaden von der Firma repariert.
sein
to be
von
from, of / by (agent in passive clauses)
passieren
to happen
reparieren
to repair
die Firma
the company
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
nachdem
after
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
das Erdbeben
the earthquake
der Schaden
the damage
Questions & Answers about Nachdem das Erdbeben passiert war, wurde der Schaden von der Firma repariert.
Why do we use von der Firma here instead of durch die Firma?
In passive sentences, we use von (+ dative) for the active agent who intentionally performs the action, like the company doing the repairs here. We use durch (+ accusative) for a means, instrument, or unconscious cause. Since the company is an active agent, von is the correct choice. Notice that von changes the feminine die Firma to the dative der Firma.
Why does the main clause start with the verb wurde right after the comma?
The entire first part of the sentence (Nachdem das Erdbeben passiert war) is a subordinate clause that takes up position one. Because German requires the conjugated verb in position two, the verb wurde must immediately follow the comma.
Why does the first half say passiert war instead of passiert hatte for 'had happened'?
The verb passieren (to happen) takes sein as its helping verb because it expresses an event or change of state. To make the past perfect tense for 'had happened', you must use the simple past of sein, which is war, along with the past participle passiert.
How do we know wurde ... repariert means 'was repaired' rather than 'would be repaired'?
This is the simple past passive. It uses the simple past form of werden, which is wurde, plus the past participle repariert. If it meant 'would be repaired', it would use the subjunctive form würde with an umlaut.
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