Breakdown of Zudem hätte die Turnhalle komplett abgesperrt werden müssen.
haben
to have
müssen
to have to, must
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
zudem
moreover
komplett
completely (in its entirety)
die Turnhalle
the gymnasium
absperren
to cordon off
Questions & Answers about Zudem hätte die Turnhalle komplett abgesperrt werden müssen.
How do I figure out the word order for the three verbs at the end: "abgesperrt werden müssen"?
In this past subjunctive passive structure, the verbs stack at the end of the clause in a very strict order: Action Verb Past Participle (abgesperrt) + passive auxiliary (werden) + modal infinitive (müssen). Notice that werden is used instead of worden here because it is part of a double infinitive construction.
Passive voice normally uses forms of "sein" for the past tense. Why does this sentence use "hätte" instead of "wäre"?
You are right that a normal past passive uses a form of sein (for example, Die Turnhalle wäre abgesperrt worden). However, as soon as you add a modal verb into a perfect tense construction, the modal verb dictates the auxiliary verb. Since all modal verbs take haben as their helping verb, the sentence must use hätte.
Since this is a past tense construction, why is the modal verb "müssen" in its infinitive form instead of the past participle "gemusst"?
This is due to the "double infinitive" rule. Whenever a modal verb is used in a perfect tense alongside another verb (in this case, the passive auxiliary werden), the modal verb drops its past participle form and appears as an infinitive instead. Therefore, you get werden müssen rather than werden gemusst.
What is the base verb for "abgesperrt" and why is the "-ge-" in the middle?
The base verb is absperren (to block, lock, or cordon off). Because it is a separable verb (ab + sperren), the -ge- prefix required to form the past participle is sandwiched directly between the separable prefix and the verb stem, resulting in abgesperrt.
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