Breakdown of Dass der Sitzplan schon ausgedruckt worden wäre, ist eine Lüge.
sein
to be
ein
a, an (eine)
schon
already
dass
that
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
ausdrucken
to print out
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
die Lüge
the lie
der Sitzplan
the seating plan
Questions & Answers about Dass der Sitzplan schon ausgedruckt worden wäre, ist eine Lüge.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb ist?
The entire dass-clause (Dass der Sitzplan schon ausgedruckt worden wäre) acts as the subject of the sentence and occupies Position 1. Because German main clauses require the conjugated verb in Position 2, the verb ist must immediately follow the comma.
Could I put the dass-clause after the main clause instead?
Yes! If you flip it, you need to add the dummy subject es to the main clause: Es ist eine Lüge, dass der Sitzplan schon ausgedruckt worden wäre. Putting the dass-clause in Position 1 instead removes the need for es and strongly emphasizes the false claim.
Why use wäre instead of war here?
The Konjunktiv II (subjunctive) form wäre is used here to emphasize doubt or distance from the statement. Because the speaker is calling the statement a lie, using the Konjunktiv II makes it clear that the event (the seating plan being printed) is hypothetical or untrue.
Why is it worden and not geworden in ausgedruckt worden wäre?
When forming the perfect or pluperfect tenses in the passive voice, German uses worden as the past participle of werden. You only use geworden when werden is the main verb of the sentence (for example, when it means to become).
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