Breakdown of Mein Reisepass liegt bereit, weil ich nächste Woche an einer Konferenz teilnehme.
ich
I
weil
because
mein
my
liegen
to lie
die Woche
the week
an
at
nächste
next
bereit
ready
der Reisepass
the passport
die Konferenz
the conference
teilnehmen
to attend
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Questions & Answers about Mein Reisepass liegt bereit, weil ich nächste Woche an einer Konferenz teilnehme.
Why is the phrase liegt bereit used here instead of ist bereit?
In German, liegen bereit is a fixed expression meaning “to lie ready” or “to be at hand.” While ist bereit simply means “is ready,” liegt bereit emphasizes that the document or object is physically available and waiting to be used.
Why does weil send the verb to the end of the clause?
Because weil is a subordinating conjunction in German. Any clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction (like weil, dass, wenn) must place its finite verb at the very end. Hence teilnehme appears after all other elements in weil ich nächste Woche an einer Konferenz teilnehme.
Why is there a comma before weil in this sentence?
German punctuation rules require a comma before a subordinate clause introduced by a conjunction such as weil, dass, or obwohl. This comma marks the boundary between the main clause and the dependent clause.
Could we move the weil clause to the beginning of the sentence? How would the word order change?
Yes. You can say:
Weil ich nächste Woche an einer Konferenz teilnehme, liegt mein Reisepass bereit.
After the subordinate clause (ending with teilnehme), you keep the verb liegt in the second position of the main clause, and the subject mein Reisepass follows.
Why is nächste Woche used without an article or preposition?
Bare time expressions in German (e.g. morgen, letzten Sommer, nächste Woche) function like adverbs and usually omit articles and prepositions. If you did want a preposition, you could say in der nächsten Woche, but it’s more common to leave it out when the meaning is clear.
Why do we say an einer Konferenz teilnehmen and use an plus the dative case?
The verb teilnehmen (“to participate”) in German always takes an + dative to specify the event. Since Konferenz is feminine, the dative form of the article is einer. Thus an einer Konferenz is required by the verb.
Why is Reisepass in the nominative case with mein and not meinen Reisepass?
In the main clause Mein Reisepass liegt bereit, Reisepass is the subject, so it takes the nominative case. The masculine nominative singular possessive pronoun is mein, not meinen (which is the masculine accusative form).
How does the present tense in liegt and teilnehme convey a future event?
German often uses the simple present to talk about future events when the time is already specified (here by nächste Woche). There’s no need for a future tense (wird liegen, werde teilnehmen), although you could use it for extra emphasis.