Breakdown of Darf hier ein Loch gebohrt werden?
ein
a, an (eine)
hier
here
dürfen
to be allowed to, may
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
Questions & Answers about Darf hier ein Loch gebohrt werden?
How is the passive voice formed with a modal verb in this question?
Because this is a yes/no question, the conjugated modal verb darf takes the first position. The actual passive action gets pushed to the very end of the sentence in a two-part cluster: the past participle gebohrt (drilled) followed immediately by the infinitive werden (to be).
Why is werden in its infinitive form here instead of wird or worden?
Modal verbs like dürfen always require the core verb at the end of the sentence to be in its infinitive (dictionary) form. In a passive sentence, that core helper verb is werden. You only use conjugated forms like wird when there is no modal verb, and worden is reserved for past perfect tenses.
Why does the adverb hier come before the subject ein Loch?
When a subject is indefinite (using a word like ein or no article), adverbs of place like hier often come before it to put the focus on the new information. If the subject were a specific, known hole, it would come before the adverb: Darf das Loch hier gebohrt werden?
What is the difference between using darf and kann in this sentence?