Breakdown of Es bleibt zu klären, welche Dosierung des Wirkstoffs sicher ist.
sein
to be
es
it
bleiben
to stay
sicher
sure / certain
zu
to (infinitive marker)
welcher
which (welcher, welche, welches, welchen, welchem...)
klären
to clarify
der Wirkstoff
the active ingredient
die Dosierung
the dosage
Questions & Answers about Es bleibt zu klären, welche Dosierung des Wirkstoffs sicher ist.
How does Es bleibt zu klären get a passive meaning like 'remains to be clarified'?
The structure es bleibt + zu + infinitive is a common German alternative to the passive voice. Even though klären means 'to clarify' (active), this specific fixed construction always carries a passive meaning expressing a necessity or expectation: 'It remains to be clarified.'
Can I form this using the actual passive voice, like 'Es bleibt geklärt werden'?
No, that would be grammatically incorrect. When expressing that something 'remains to be done,' German strictly uses the bleiben + zu + infinitive pattern rather than combining bleiben with a standard passive structure.
Why does the word Wirkstoffs have an -s added to the end?
The phrase des Wirkstoffs is in the genitive case, which translates to 'of the active ingredient.' Since der Wirkstoff is a masculine noun, its genitive form takes the article des and requires an -s at the end of the noun.
Why is the verb ist pushed to the very end of the sentence?
The second half of the sentence, welche Dosierung des Wirkstoffs sicher ist, is an indirect question. Indirect questions act as subordinate clauses in German, which means the conjugated verb (ist) must be placed at the very end of the clause.
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