Breakdown of Der Bär wurde jenseits des Tals gesehen.
sehen
to see
der Bär
the bear
das Tal
the valley
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
jenseits
beyond / on the other side of the
Questions & Answers about Der Bär wurde jenseits des Tals gesehen.
Why does Tal change to des Tals in this sentence?
The preposition jenseits (beyond / on the other side of) requires the genitive case. Because Tal is a neuter noun (das Tal), the definite article becomes des and we add an -s to the end of the noun.
Would it also be correct to write des Tales?
How exactly is the passive voice constructed here with wurde?
The sentence uses the simple past (Präteritum) passive. You form this by taking the simple past of the helping verb werden (which is wurde for a singular third-person subject like der Bär) and placing the past participle of the main verb (gesehen) at the very end of the sentence.
What is the exact opposite of jenseits if the bear were on our side of the valley?
You would use the preposition diesseits, which means 'on this side of.' The sentence would then be Der Bär wurde diesseits des Tals gesehen. Like jenseits, it also requires the genitive case.
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