Breakdown of Das Bergwerk, dessen Tunnel gefährlich waren, ist aufgrund der Explosion geschlossen.
sein
to be
schließen
to close
gefährlich
dangerous
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Tunnel
the tunnel
dessen
whose (m/n)
aufgrund
due to
das Bergwerk
the mine
die Explosion
the explosion
Questions & Answers about Das Bergwerk, dessen Tunnel gefährlich waren, ist aufgrund der Explosion geschlossen.
Why is it der Explosion after aufgrund?
The preposition aufgrund (due to) requires the genitive case. Since Explosion is a feminine noun (die Explosion), its definite article changes to der in the genitive.
Why do we use dessen to say "whose tunnels"?
dessen is the genitive relative pronoun. It refers back to the neuter noun das Bergwerk. For masculine and neuter nouns, the word for "whose" is dessen, while for feminine and plural nouns, it is deren.
How can we tell that Tunnel is plural in this sentence?
The plural verb waren (were) gives it away! The noun der Tunnel doesn't change its spelling in the plural, so without the verb to guide us, it would look exactly like the singular form.
Why use ist ... geschlossen instead of wurde geschlossen?
ist geschlossen describes the current state of the mine (it is currently closed). This is called the statal passive. If you used wurde geschlossen, it would focus on the past action of someone closing it.
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