Breakdown of Was auch immer passiert, die Hängematte wird eingepackt.
auch
also, too
immer
always
was
what
passieren
to happen
Questions & Answers about Was auch immer passiert, die Hängematte wird eingepackt.
How exactly do you form 'whatever' in German, and are there variations of was auch immer?
You form generalizing pronouns by combining a question word like was (what) with auch immer (ever). While they stay together as a fixed block here, you can sometimes drop the auch and just say was immer passiert to mean the exact same thing.
Why is the word order in the main clause die Hängematte wird eingepackt instead of wird die Hängematte eingepackt?
That is a great catch! Normally, a dependent clause takes up Position 1, forcing the main clause verb to come immediately after the comma. However, clauses starting with was auch immer are often treated as a separate preamble that sits completely outside the core sentence. Because it acts independently, the main clause restarts its normal word order from scratch, placing the subject die Hängematte in Position 1.
Is wird eingepackt present tense or future tense here?
Grammatically, it is the present tense passive, formed with werden and the past participle eingepackt. However, just like in English ('the hammock is getting packed'), German frequently uses the present tense to express a firm, definite plan for the future. The passive voice is used to emphasize the inevitable result for the hammock, rather than pointing out who will do the packing.