Breakdown of Aufgrund der Risiken müssen die Probanden alle Nebenwirkungen sofort melden.
alle
all, everyone
müssen
to have to, must
sofort
immediately
das Risiko
the risk
aufgrund
due to
melden
to report
die Nebenwirkung
the side effect
der Proband
the test subject
Questions & Answers about Aufgrund der Risiken müssen die Probanden alle Nebenwirkungen sofort melden.
Why is it der Risiken and not die Risiken?
The preposition aufgrund (due to) requires the genitive case. Because das Risiko is plural here, the article die changes to der for the genitive plural.
Why does müssen come before the subject die Probanden?
The sentence starts with the prepositional phrase Aufgrund der Risiken, which occupies the first position. Since the conjugated verb must take the second position in a main clause, the verb müssen comes next, pushing the subject die Probanden to the third position.
What kind of noun is der Proband, and why does it end in -en here?
Der Proband (the test subject) is a weak masculine noun, which means it follows the n-declension rules. It takes an -en ending in all cases except the nominative singular. Here it is in the nominative plural, but it is good to remember that even in the accusative singular it would be den Probanden.
How does this direct obligation compare to the impersonal structures (like es bleibt zu + infinitive) in this lesson?
While this lesson covers impersonal phrases like es bleibt abzuwarten, this sentence uses a direct, active obligation with müssen to make it absolutely clear who must act (die Probanden). If you wanted to express this as an impersonal expectation, you could use the passive-like structure Alle Nebenwirkungen sind sofort zu melden (All side effects are to be reported immediately), which drops the specific subjects entirely.
Learn Aufgrund der Risiken müssen die Probanden alle Nebenwirkungen sofort melden and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free