Breakdown of Zum Glück ist alles schon erledigt.
sein
to be
schon
already
alles
everything
zum Glück
luckily, fortunately
erledigen
to get done
Questions & Answers about Zum Glück ist alles schon erledigt.
Why is the verb ist used here instead of wird for the passive voice?
This is the stative passive (Zustandspassiv). Using a form of sein (here, ist) plus the past participle (erledigt) describes a completed state or result: the work is finished. If we used werden (wird), it would be the dynamic passive (Vorgangspassiv), meaning the action is happening right now: "everything is being done."
Why doesn't the past participle erledigt start with ge-?
erledigt comes from the verb erledigen (to handle / to take care of). Verbs that begin with inseparable prefixes like er-, be-, ver-, or ent- never take a ge- in their past participle form. They just end in -t (if regular) or -en (if irregular).
How does Zum Glück translate to "fortunately"?
Literally, it means "to the luck" or "to the happiness." It is a very common fixed expression formed by the preposition zu + the dative article dem (contracted to zum) and the neuter noun das Glück.
Why is the subject alles placed after the verb ist?
This is a great reminder of the V2 (verb-second) rule! Because German requires the conjugated verb to be in the second position of a main clause, starting the sentence with the adverbial phrase Zum Glück means the verb ist must come immediately next. This pushes the subject alles to the third position.
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