Breakdown of Hast du die Voraussetzung erfüllt, bevor du dich beworben hast?
du
you
haben
to have
bevor
before
dich
you; (informal singular, accusative)
Questions & Answers about Hast du die Voraussetzung erfüllt, bevor du dich beworben hast?
Why does the main clause start with Hast du instead of du hast?
In German yes-no questions the finite verb comes first (verb–subject). Here hast (the auxiliary for the perfect tense) is in position 1, du (the subject) in position 2. In a statement you’d say Du hast die Voraussetzung erfüllt, but to turn it into a question you invert subject and verb: Hast du … erfüllt?
Why is there a comma before bevor and why does bevor push the verb to the end of its clause?
Bevor is a subordinating conjunction (“before”). In German any clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction is set off by a comma, and the finite verb moves to the very end of that subordinate clause. So after bevor you get du (subject), dich (reflexive pronoun), beworben (past participle) and finally hast (auxiliary).
Why are there two instances of hast in the sentence?
Because both clauses are in the perfect tense (Perfekt). Each clause needs its own auxiliary verb haben (conjugated as hast for du). One hast belongs to the main clause (Hast du … erfüllt?), the other to the subordinate clause (bevor du dich … beworben hast).
Could I use the simple past (Präteritum) instead of the perfect (Perfekt) here?