Jede Zahnbürste sollte alle drei Monate gewechselt werden.

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Questions & Answers about Jede Zahnbürste sollte alle drei Monate gewechselt werden.

Why is jede Zahnbürste used instead of alle Zahnbürsten?

jede + singular noun = “each” item individually
alle + plural noun = “all” items as a group
Here, you’re advising to replace each toothbrush every three months, not replace all toothbrushes at once.

Why is the sentence in the passive voice with gewechselt werden?

In German, passive voice shifts focus from the person doing the action to the action itself.
• Active: Man wechselt jede Zahnbürste alle drei Monate.
• Passive: Jede Zahnbürste sollte alle drei Monate gewechselt werden.
You don’t specify “who” changes it—only that “it should be changed.”

Why do we use sollte here instead of muss or soll?

muss = have to (strong obligation)
soll = should (present recommendation)
sollte = should (past tense form, more polite/less direct)
sollte softens the recommendation, making it sound like general advice rather than a strict rule.

Why is gewechselt werden both infinitives at the end?

A modal verb (sollte) plus a passive construction uses two infinitives. Word order in main clauses:
solltegewechselt werden.
Both infinitives go to the clause‑final position in the sequence they appear in the verb phrase.

What case is alle drei Monate, and why that form?

It’s the accusative of time (time span). In German you often use accusative for expressions of duration or frequency:
alle drei Monate = “every three months”
You could also place it at the beginning: Alle drei Monate sollte jede Zahnbürste gewechselt werden.

Why is Zahnbürste feminine, and how do you know which article to use?

Most German nouns have a grammatical gender you must memorize. Zahnbürste is feminine, so you use:
• Nominative singular: die Zahnbürste
• With jede, which declines like an indefinite article, you get jede Zahnbürste.

Could I say this sentence in the active voice?

Yes. In active form you need a subject like man or wir:
Man sollte jede Zahnbürste alle drei Monate wechseln.
Here man is an indefinite pronoun (“one/you/people in general”), and wechseln is the active verb.

Why does the finite verb sollte appear in second position?
In German main clauses the finite verb (here sollte) must occupy the second position. Adverbial elements (like alle drei Monate) can come before or after the subject, but the verb stays in slot 2.