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Questions & Answers about Der Hund ist gut geschützt.
Which case is Der Hund in, and why?
Der Hund is in the nominative case because it functions as the subject of the sentence. In German, the verb ist requires a nominative subject.
What form of geschützt is used here, and why doesn’t it take an adjective ending?
geschützt is the past participle (Partizip II) of the verb schützen. It’s used predicatively (after sein) to describe a state, so it remains uninflected.
Is Der Hund ist gut geschützt written in the passive voice?
Yes, but it’s the Zustandspassiv (stative passive), expressing the resulting condition (“the dog is protected”) rather than the ongoing action of protecting.
How does Der Hund wird geschützt differ from Der Hund ist geschützt?
- Der Hund wird geschützt is the Vorgangspassiv (dynamic passive), focusing on the action (“the dog is being protected”).
- Der Hund ist geschützt is the Zustandspassiv (stative passive), focusing on the resulting state (“the dog is protected”).
Why is gut placed before geschützt, and is it an adjective or an adverb here?
gut is an adverb modifying the participle geschützt. Adverbs in German don’t take endings, and they normally precede the word they modify.
Can you intensify gut geschützt, for example with sehr?
Yes. You can say Der Hund ist sehr gut geschützt or Der Hund ist besonders gut geschützt to add emphasis on how well he’s protected.
Why is there no mention of who protects the dog, like von jemandem?
In the Zustandspassiv the agent is often omitted because the focus is on the state, not on who performed the action. If you want to mention the agent, you can add von, e.g. Der Hund ist gut geschützt von seinem Besitzer, but it isn’t necessary.
Can I place gut geschützt at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes. German allows flexible word order. You could say Gut geschützt ist der Hund, but then you must invert the verb and subject.