Breakdown of Das Quartal ist abgeschlossen, aber es war nicht so produktiv, wie wir wollten.
sein
to be
es
it
aber
but
wir
we
nicht
not
wollen
to want
so
so, such (intensifier)
abschließen
to complete
wie
as (in comparisons)
das Quartal
the quarter (of a year)
produktiv
productive
Questions & Answers about Das Quartal ist abgeschlossen, aber es war nicht so produktiv, wie wir wollten.
Why does the verb wollten go at the very end of the sentence?
The phrase wie wir wollten is a subordinate clause. It completes the comparison started by so produktiv. Because wie acts as a subordinating conjunction here, it kicks the conjugated verb (wollten) to the end of its clause.
Why do we use so and wie together here instead of als?
When comparing two things that are equal, or in this case unequal due to the negation nicht, German uses the pattern so [adjective] wie (as [adjective] as). You would only use als if you were using a comparative adjective, like produktiver als (more productive than).
Is ist abgeschlossen the present perfect tense here?
It looks like it, but it functions here as a state passive (Zustandspassiv). Instead of describing the action of someone finishing the quarter, using ist with the past participle abgeschlossen simply describes the current condition: the quarter is now in a finished state.
Doesn't the modal verb wollten need an infinitive verb at the end?
Strictly speaking, yes, but German frequently drops the main verb if it is obvious from context. Here, wie wir wollten implies something like wie wir es haben wollten (as we wanted to have it), but leaving the extra verbs out is much more natural.
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