Breakdown of Der Chef sagt, dass das Büro renoviert werden muss.
sagen
to say
das Büro
the office
der Chef
the boss (male)
müssen
to have to, must
dass
that
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
renovieren
to renovate
Questions & Answers about Der Chef sagt, dass das Büro renoviert werden muss.
Why are there three verbs stacked together (renoviert werden muss) at the end of the sentence?
This sentence uses the passive voice with a modal verb. To say something "must be done," you need the past participle of the action (renoviert), the passive helper verb (werden), and the conjugated modal verb (muss).
Why is "werden" in its infinitive form instead of being conjugated as "wird"?
Modal verbs like müssen (must / have to) force the accompanying verb into the infinitive. Here, the passive block "be renovated" acts as that infinitive: renoviert werden. The modal verb takes over the conjugation to match the subject (das Büro).
Why is the conjugated verb "muss" at the very end instead of in the second position?
The word dass (that) introduces a subordinate clause, which forces the conjugated verb to the very end of the sentence. Because muss is the conjugated verb here, it gets pushed past the infinitive block renoviert werden.
Can I drop the word "dass" like we often drop "that" in English?
Yes, you can! But if you do, the second half of the sentence turns back into a regular main clause. The conjugated verb moves to the second position, giving you: Der Chef sagt, das Büro muss renoviert werden.
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