Breakdown of Der müde Chirurg durfte während der Arbeit nicht gestört werden.
müde
tired
nicht
not
die Arbeit
the work
dürfen
to be allowed to, may
stören
to disturb
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
während
during
der Chirurg
the surgeon
Questions & Answers about Der müde Chirurg durfte während der Arbeit nicht gestört werden.
How is the past tense passive voice constructed with the modal verb in this sentence?
We use the simple past (Präteritum) form of the modal verb in the second position (durfte), and place the past participle of the main verb (gestört) followed directly by the infinitive werden at the very end of the sentence.
Why does the English translation use 'was not allowed to' for durfte nicht?
English does not have a simple past tense form of 'must not' to express prohibition. German simply puts dürfen (to be allowed to) into the simple past as durfte and negates it with nicht to mean 'was not allowed to'.
What case is triggered by the preposition während in während der Arbeit?
The preposition während requires the genitive case in standard German. Because Arbeit is a feminine noun (die Arbeit), the definite article changes to der in the genitive case.
Why is nicht placed right before gestört werden instead of earlier in the sentence?
When negating an entire action or verb phrase, nicht is pushed towards the end of the clause. It sits just before the final verbs (gestört werden) to negate the entire act of being disturbed.
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