Breakdown of Der Aufwand ist groß, weil wir jedes Plakat haben malen müssen.
sein
to be
groß
big / tall
haben
to have
wir
we
malen
to paint
müssen
to have to, must
jeder
everyone / each
weil
because (subordinating)
der Aufwand
the effort (expenditure, resources)
das Plakat
the poster
Questions & Answers about Der Aufwand ist groß, weil wir jedes Plakat haben malen müssen.
Wait, in a weil clause, shouldn't the conjugated verb haben go at the very end?
Normally, yes! In a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb usually gets pushed to the very end. However, this sentence uses a double infinitive (malen müssen). When a subordinate clause ends with a double infinitive, there is a strict word order exception: the conjugated helper verb (haben) jumps to the front of the verb cluster instead of going to the very end. That is why it is haben malen müssen, and never malen müssen haben.
Why is the sentence using the infinitive müssen instead of the past participle gemusst?
This is a special rule for modal verbs like müssen, können, or wollen. When a modal verb is used together with another verb in the perfect tense (here, malen), it drops its standard past participle (gemusst) and uses its infinitive form instead. This is exactly what creates the double infinitive structure.
Why is the ending on jedes an -es in jedes Plakat?
Plakat (poster) is a neuter noun (das Plakat). In this sentence, it is the direct object of the painting action, so it is in the accusative case. For neuter nouns in the accusative case, the determiner jeder (every/each) takes the neuter ending -es, making it jedes Plakat.
How do I use the word Aufwand? Can it just mean expensive?
Der Aufwand translates to effort, expense, or trouble. It refers to the amount of energy, time, or money you have to put into completing a task. It is a very common word in German to describe how much work a project takes. If you want to say something is simply expensive in terms of a price tag, you would use the adjective teuer instead.
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