Breakdown of Er muss danach unbemerkt durch den Garten entwischt sein.
sein
to be
er
he
der Garten
the garden
müssen
to have to, must
danach
after that
durch
through
unbemerkt
unnoticed (unperceived)
entwischen
to slip away
Questions & Answers about Er muss danach unbemerkt durch den Garten entwischt sein.
Why does this sentence mean "must have slipped away" instead of "has to slip away"?
When a present tense modal verb like muss is paired with a past participle and an auxiliary verb at the end of the sentence (entwischt sein), it expresses an assumption about the past. This structure is called the Perfekt Infinitive. Here, muss shows a very high level of certainty about a past event.
Why does the sentence end with sein instead of haben?
The auxiliary verb at the end of a Perfekt Infinitive depends entirely on the main verb. Because entwischen (to slip away or escape) is a verb expressing motion or a change of state, it requires sein as its helper verb. Therefore, the combination must be entwischt sein.
Why is it durch den Garten in the accusative case, if he is moving around inside the garden?
The preposition durch (through) is a strict accusative preposition. Unlike two-way prepositions where you have to decide between accusative for a destination and dative for a fixed location, durch always triggers the accusative case no matter the context.
Why does the sentence use the word order danach unbemerkt durch den Garten?
This perfectly follows the standard German word order rule known as TeKaMoLo. It places Time (danach) before Manner (unbemerkt) and finally Place (durch den Garten).
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