Breakdown of Der Fensterrahmen wird nächste Woche aus Holz neu gebaut.
neu
new
werden
to become
die Woche
the week
nächste
next
bauen
to build
der Fensterrahmen
the window frame
aus
out of
das Holz
the wood
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Questions & Answers about Der Fensterrahmen wird nächste Woche aus Holz neu gebaut.
Why is Der Fensterrahmen in the nominative case?
Because it’s the subject of a passive‐voice sentence. In German passive constructions, the thing undergoing the action becomes the subject and therefore takes the nominative.
What function does wird serve here?
Wird is the present‐tense form of werden, used as the auxiliary verb to form the passive voice. Paired with the past participle gebaut, it means “is being built.”
Why does gebaut appear at the end of the sentence?
In a German main clause with a finite auxiliary (wird) and a non-finite verb form (the participle gebaut), the non-finite verb always goes to the final position.
What case is implied by aus Holz, and why is there no article?
The preposition aus governs the dative case, but when you speak of the material something is made of in a general sense, German typically omits the article. Holz is neuter, and its dative form is identical to the nominative, so you simply say aus Holz.
Why is there no preposition before nächste Woche?
Time expressions like days, weeks, or months can function as adverbial accusatives without a preposition. Thus nächste Woche by itself means “next week.”
Is neu functioning as an adjective or an adverb in this context?
Here neu is an adverb modifying the verb phrase wird … gebaut, conveying “anew” or “as new,” i.e. that the frame is being built fresh or again.
How can you include the doer of the action (the agent) in this passive sentence?
You introduce the agent with von plus the dative. For example:
Der Fensterrahmen wird nächste Woche von der Schreinerei aus Holz neu gebaut.
Why do we use aus instead of mit to describe the material?
Aus indicates the material something is made of (“out of wood”), whereas mit would suggest using something as an instrument or accompaniment (“with wood”).
What would be the active-voice equivalent of this sentence?
You need a nominative subject (the builder) and move Fensterrahmen to the accusative. For example:
Die Schreinerei baut den Fensterrahmen nächste Woche aus Holz neu.