Breakdown of Der Zeitplan bleibt flexibel, je nachdem, was passiert.
was
what
bleiben
to stay
passieren
to happen
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
je nachdem
depending on
der Zeitplan
the schedule
flexibel
flexible
Questions & Answers about Der Zeitplan bleibt flexibel, je nachdem, was passiert.
What does je nachdem mean, and why is it followed by was?
je nachdem means 'depending on'. In German, it is usually paired with an indirect question to show exactly what the situation depends on. Here, the indirect question starts with the W-word was (what), creating the meaning 'depending on what'.
Why is there a comma right before was?
The word was starts a subordinate clause (the indirect question). German has strict punctuation rules: you generally must use a comma to separate a subordinate clause from the rest of the sentence, which is why there is a comma separating je nachdem from was passiert.
Why does the verb passiert come at the very end?
Because was passiert is a subordinate clause. In German, the conjugated verb in a subordinate clause is always pushed to the very end. Even though this specific clause is only two words long, the rule still applies, putting passiert last.
Is passiert used here to mean 'passed'?
No, passieren is a classic false friend. It almost always means 'to happen' or 'to occur', which is why was passiert translates to 'what happens'. If you wanted to talk about 'passing' a test, you would use a completely different verb, like bestehen.
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