Breakdown of Die Einladungen sind an alle Gäste verteilt.
sein
to be
alle
all, everyone
an
at, on (vertical) / to (addressee) / of (in quantity/stock expressions)
die Einladung
the invitation
der Gast
the guest
verteilen
to distribute
Questions & Answers about Die Einladungen sind an alle Gäste verteilt.
Why does this sentence use sind instead of werden?
This is the stative passive (Zustandspassiv). If we used werden (Die Einladungen werden verteilt), it would mean the action is happening right now: 'The invitations are being distributed.' By using sind plus the past participle (verteilt), it describes a completed state: the action is finished, and the invitations are now in the state of having been distributed.
an is a two-way preposition. Why is alle Gäste in the accusative case here instead of the dative?
Even though a 'completed state' often implies a fixed location (which usually triggers the dative), the phrase an alle Gäste is tied to the original verb verteilen (to distribute). You distribute something to a destination. Because it shows the direction the invitations went, an still takes the accusative case here.
Why doesn't the past participle verteilt have a ge- at the beginning?
The verb verteilen starts with the inseparable prefix ver-. Verbs that begin with inseparable prefixes (like be-, ent-, er-, ver-) never take the ge- prefix when forming the past participle.
Could I change the word order and say Die Einladungen sind verteilt an alle Gäste?
No, in German the past participle (verteilt) must go at the very end of the sentence. Just like in the perfect tense, the helping verb (sind) takes the second position, and the participle gets pushed to the end to form a 'bracket' around the rest of the sentence.
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