Breakdown of Ist die weiße Tischdecke schon gebügelt?
sein
to be
schon
already
weiß
white
die Tischdecke
the tablecloth
bügeln
to iron
Questions & Answers about Ist die weiße Tischdecke schon gebügelt?
Why do we use ist instead of wird here if it's a passive sentence?
This sentence uses the stative passive (Zustandspassiv), which focuses on a completed state or result. We form it using sein (here, ist) plus the past participle (gebügelt). If we used wird instead, it would be the standard action passive (Vorgangspassiv) and would mean the action is happening right now: 'Is the tablecloth being ironed?'
Why is the adjective ending weiße and not weißes or weißen?
Tischdecke (tablecloth) is a feminine noun, and it is the subject of the sentence (nominative case). Because it follows the definite article die, the adjective takes the weak ending -e.
The infinitive is bügeln. How exactly do we build the past participle gebügelt?
bügeln (to iron) is a regular (weak) verb, but its infinitive ends in -eln instead of the usual -en. To find the stem, you just drop the final -n, leaving bügel-. Then, like all regular verbs, you add ge- to the front and -t to the end: ge + bügel + t.
Why does schon come right before gebügelt?
In German yes/no questions, the conjugated verb (ist) always takes the first position, while the past participle (gebügelt) gets sent to the very end of the sentence. This creates a 'verb bracket'. Adverbs like schon (already) are placed inside this bracket, usually as close to the end as possible, right before the verb they modify.
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