Breakdown of Du musst alle Quellen zitieren, sonst fällst du durch.
du
you (informal singular)
alle
all, everyone
müssen
to have to, must
sonst
otherwise, or else
durchfallen
to fail
die Quelle
the source
zitieren
to cite
Questions & Answers about Du musst alle Quellen zitieren, sonst fällst du durch.
This lesson covers the Gerundivum. How would you express the obligation in the first half of this sentence as a Gerundivum?
The Gerundivum turns a passive obligation into an attributive adjective. Instead of using the active clause Du musst alle Quellen zitieren, you can express this as the noun phrase alle zu zitierenden Quellen (all sources to be cited / all sources that must be cited).
What would the first half of the sentence look like in the standard passive voice?
To say 'All sources must be cited', you use the passive voice with a modal verb: Alle Quellen müssen zitiert werden. The Gerundivum (alle zu zitierenden Quellen) is simply a compact way to pack this entire passive obligation directly in front of a noun!
Why is the word order sonst fällst du durch instead of sonst du fällst durch?
The word sonst (otherwise) is an adverb, not a zero-position coordinating conjunction like und or aber. Because sonst occupies position 1 in the second clause, the conjugated verb fällst must take position 2, which pushes the subject du into position 3.
What is the literal meaning of the verb durchfallen?
It is a separable verb that literally translates to 'to fall through'. In German, 'falling through' is the standard, everyday idiom for failing an exam, a class, or an assignment. Because it is a conjugated separable verb here, its prefix durch gets kicked to the very end of the clause.
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