Breakdown of Trotz der Scherben kann er schnell entwischt sein.
sein
to be
er
he
schnell
fast, quickly
können
can / to be able to
trotz
despite
die Scherbe
the shard
entwischen
to slip away
Questions & Answers about Trotz der Scherben kann er schnell entwischt sein.
Why do we use kann ... entwischt sein instead of just konnte ... entwischen?
kann ... entwischt sein is a subjective assumption about the past. It means 'it is possible that he escaped.' If you used the standard past tense konnte schnell entwischen, it would state a fact about his past ability: 'he was able to escape quickly' (meaning he had the physical opportunity). The kann + Perfekt Infinitive structure specifically shows we are guessing about what happened.
Why is the perfect infinitive at the end entwischt sein rather than entwischt haben?
The verb entwischen (to slip away or escape) requires the auxiliary verb sein for its perfect tenses because it describes a change of location. When building a past assumption, you use the modal verb (kann) conjugated in position 2, and put the entire perfect infinitive (entwischt sein) at the end of the clause.
What case is der Scherben in, and what triggered it?
It is in the genitive case. The preposition trotz (despite) requires the genitive case in standard German. You might sometimes hear people use the dative case with trotz in casual everyday speech, but the genitive is the correct form expected at the B2 level.
Why doesn't the past participle entwischt have a ge- in it?
The verb entwischen uses the inseparable prefix ent-. Verbs with inseparable prefixes (such as be-, ent-, er-, ver-, and zer-) do not take the ge- prefix when forming the past participle. Therefore, the form is simply entwischt.
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