Breakdown of Der Mann wird in der Lawine verunglückt sein.
sein
to be
der Mann
the man
in
in
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
werden
will (future auxiliary)
die Lawine
the avalanche
verunglücken
to have an accident
Questions & Answers about Der Mann wird in der Lawine verunglückt sein.
Does this sentence mean the accident hasn't happened yet?
No, the accident has already happened. Although it translates literally as 'will have had', Germans use the Futur II primarily to make a strong assumption or guess about something in the past. A more natural English translation would be 'The man probably had an accident in the avalanche' or 'The man must have had an accident.'
Why does this sentence end with sein instead of haben?
The Future Perfect (Futur II) uses werden + the past participle + either haben or sein. We use sein here because the main verb, verunglücken (to have an accident), takes sein in its normal perfect tenses. It describes an event or change of condition rather than an action with a direct object.
Why is it in der Lawine (dative) and not in die Lawine (accusative)?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. We use the dative case (der Lawine) here because it answers the question 'Where did it happen?' (Wo?). It describes the location where the event took place, rather than a physical movement into the avalanche.
What exactly does verunglücken mean here?
verunglücken generally means 'to have an accident' (coming from das Unglück, meaning misfortune or disaster). In severe contexts like an avalanche (die Lawine), it very often implies a fatal accident, so this sentence strongly suggests the man perished.
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