Breakdown of Die Forscher werten das Experiment aus, das gestern durchgeführt worden ist.
sein
to be
gestern
yesterday
das Experiment
the experiment
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
der Forscher
the researcher
auswerten
to evaluate
durchführen
to conduct
Questions & Answers about Die Forscher werten das Experiment aus, das gestern durchgeführt worden ist.
How would we rewrite this sentence using an extended participle attribute instead of a relative clause?
To turn this relative clause into an extended participle attribute, we take the past participle durchgeführt, add an adjective ending, and place it before the noun Experiment. We also move the adverb gestern in front of the participle. The new sentence becomes: Die Forscher werten das gestern durchgeführte Experiment aus. Because the original relative clause is passive, using the past participle as an adjective perfectly captures that meaning.
Why does the relative clause end with worden ist instead of geworden ist?
The relative clause is in the present perfect passive (Perfekt Passiv). When the verb werden is used as a helper verb to build the passive voice, its past participle drops the ge- prefix. Therefore, you must use worden rather than geworden. The full structure here is durchgeführt (past participle of the main verb) + worden (passive auxiliary) + ist (conjugated form of sein, pushed to the end by the relative clause).
Why is the prefix aus separated at the end of the main clause, but durch- stays attached in durchgeführt?
In the main clause, the separable verb auswerten (to evaluate) is the active, conjugated verb, so its prefix aus moves to the end of the clause. In the relative clause, durchführen (to conduct) is not conjugated; it is in its past participle form to build the passive voice. For separable verbs, the -ge- simply slots between the prefix and the stem, creating the single word durchgeführt.
Could I use the simple past passive here instead of the present perfect passive?
Yes, and in fact, it is often preferred! While this sentence uses the perfect tense passive (durchgeführt worden ist), German speakers frequently use the simple past passive because it sounds less clunky, even for recent events like gestern. You can absolutely say: ..., das gestern durchgeführt wurde.
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