Breakdown of Die Mauer wurde zerstört, währenddessen kamen sie gerannt.
kommen
to come
sie
they
rennen
to run
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
zerstören
to destroy
die Mauer
the wall (exterior, brick or stone)
währenddessen
in the meantime
Questions & Answers about Die Mauer wurde zerstört, währenddessen kamen sie gerannt.
Why does the sentence use the past participle gerannt instead of a present participle like in English?
In German, to express the manner in which someone arrives, you combine the verb kommen with the past participle (Partizip II) of a motion verb. While English says 'came running', German literally says 'came run' (kamen ... gerannt). Other examples include kamen geflogen (came flying) or kamen geschwommen (came swimming).
Why is the verb kamen right after währenddessen, instead of at the end of the sentence?
währenddessen (meanwhile) is an adverb, not a subordinating conjunction like während (while). Because it occupies position 1 in the second main clause, the verb kamen must take position 2, pushing the subject sie to position 3.
What is the difference between wurde zerstört and war zerstört in this context?
wurde zerstört is the process passive (Vorgangspassiv) in the simple past. It means the action of destroying the wall was happening right at that moment. If it said war zerstört (state passive), it would mean the destruction was already finished before they arrived.
Could we use laufen instead of rennen for 'running' in this structure?
Yes, you can say kamen gelaufen. Remember that you must use its past participle (gelaufen) because of the kommen + Partizip II rule. Note that rennen usually implies a faster, more urgent sprint than laufen, which can sometimes just mean walking briskly depending on the region.
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