Breakdown of Ich glaube, dass das Fossil wohl im Gestein unter dieser Schicht liegen wird.
ich
I
in
in
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
glauben
to believe
liegen
to lie
unter
under, below
dass
that
werden
will (future auxiliary)
wohl
probably, I suppose
das Fossil
the fossil
die Schicht
the layer
das Gestein
the rock
Questions & Answers about Ich glaube, dass das Fossil wohl im Gestein unter dieser Schicht liegen wird.
Why does the German sentence use the future tense (wird ... liegen) when the English translation says "is probably lying" (present tense)?
In German, the future tense (Futur I) isn't just for the future! When combined with words like wohl (probably), using werden plus an infinitive expresses a strong assumption about something happening right now. The speaker is making a confident guess about where the fossil currently is.
What exactly is the word wohl doing in this sentence?
wohl is a "modal particle" that translates roughly to "probably" or "I suppose." It reinforces the assumption being made by the future tense (wird). While you could drop it and just rely on the future tense to show you are guessing, adding wohl makes it sound much more natural and conversational.
Why is wird at the very end of the sentence instead of after the subject (das Fossil)?
The word dass (that) introduces a subordinate clause. In a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb—in this case, the helper verb wird—is always kicked to the very end of the sentence. The infinitive verb (liegen) stays right before it, resulting in the order liegen wird.
Schicht is a feminine noun (die Schicht), so why does it say dieser Schicht? Doesn't the -er ending usually mean it's masculine?
It's because of the case! The preposition unter (under) is a two-way preposition. Since the fossil is resting in a stationary location (answering "where?"), it triggers the dative case. In the dative case, feminine words change their article endings to -er, turning diese Schicht into dieser Schicht.
What is im a combination of here?
im is the mandatory contraction of in and dem. Just like with unter, the preposition in here describes a stationary location ("in the rock"), which requires the dative case. Because Gestein is neuter (das Gestein), its dative article is dem, which shrinks down to create im.
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