Breakdown of Ob es bei der Trauung regnet, bleibt ungewiss.
es
it
regnen
to rain
bleiben
to stay
ob
whether / if
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
bei
in the event of, during
ungewiss
uncertain
die Trauung
the wedding ceremony
Questions & Answers about Ob es bei der Trauung regnet, bleibt ungewiss.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb bleibt instead of a subject?
The entire first clause (Ob es bei der Trauung regnet) acts as the subject of the main sentence. Because this subject clause occupies Position 1, the main verb (bleibt) must immediately follow in Position 2 to satisfy the standard German verb-second rule.
Could we flip the sentence and put the main clause first?
Yes, but you would need to add a placeholder subject. The sentence would become: Es bleibt ungewiss, ob es bei der Trauung regnet. When the subject clause is moved to the front (as in our original example), that placeholder es is dropped completely.
Why use bei here (bei der Trauung) if the English translation says 'during'? Shouldn't it be während?
You absolutely could use während here (während der Trauung). However, bei is very commonly used with events, activities, or weather to mean 'at the time of' or 'during' (similar to beim Essen for 'during the meal'). Note that bei always requires the dative case, changing the feminine die Trauung to der Trauung.
Is the word ungewiss related to the verb wissen (to know)?
Yes! It is built from the adjective gewiss (certain or sure), which shares a root with wissen. By adding the negative prefix un-, it becomes the opposite, meaning uncertain or unknown.
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