Alle alten Termine müssen im Kalender durchgestrichen werden.

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Breakdown of Alle alten Termine müssen im Kalender durchgestrichen werden.

• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• alt: old
• müssen: must
• alle: all
• der Kalender: the calendar
• der Termin: the appointment
• durchgestrichen werden: to be crossed out

Questions & Answers about Alle alten Termine müssen im Kalender durchgestrichen werden.

Why is it Alle alten Termine and not Alle alte Termine?

Because of German adjective endings in the plural.

• Alle behaves like a "der-word" (like die, diese, jene, solche, welche, manche).
• After such words, adjectives take the weak declension, which in the plural is always -en, regardless of case.

So:

• alle alten Termine = all old appointments
  
  • alle = determiner (like "all")
  • alten = adjective with -en ending (weak declension)
  • Termine = plural noun

You cannot say alle alte Termine, because alte would be the strong ending; that is used without a der-word (e.g. alte Termine on its own, or after viele, wenige in some patterns).

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What case is Termine in here, and why?

Grammatically, Termine is nominative plural.

• It is the subject of the passive sentence:
  • Alle alten Termine = subject
  • müssen … durchgestrichen werden = passive verb phrase

In the corresponding active sentence, Termine would be accusative:

• Jemand muss alle alten Termine im Kalender durchstreichen.
  (Someone must cross out all the old appointments in the calendar.)

When you turn that into passive:

• Alle alten Termine müssen im Kalender durchgestrichen werden.

The former accusative object (alle alten Termine) becomes the subject (nominative) of the passive sentence.

Note: in the plural, nominative and accusative look the same (die/alle alten Termine), which can make this less obvious.

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How does the verb structure müssen … durchgestrichen werden work?

You have three important elements:

1. müssen – modal verb (finite, conjugated: müssen for "sie" plural)
2. durchgestrichen – past participle of durchstreichen
3. werden – infinitive of werden, used to build the passive

In German word order with a modal + passive:

• The modal verb is in second position, conjugated:
  • Alle alten Termine müssen …
• The other verbs go to the end of the clause as infinitive/participle cluster:
  • … durchgestrichen werden.

So the pattern is:

• Subj + müssen + [rest of sentence] + Participle + werden

Compare:

• Without passive, just modal + infinitive:
  • Wir müssen alle alten Termine im Kalender durchstreichen.
• With passive + modal:
  • Alle alten Termine müssen im Kalender durchgestrichen werden.

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Why is the past participle durchgestrichen and not something like gestricht?

Because the base verb is durchstreichen, a separable-prefix verb:

• Infinitive: durchstreichen
• Present: ich streiche … durch, er streicht … durch
• Simple past: er strich … durch
• Perfect: er hat … durchgestrichen

For separable-prefix verbs:

• The prefix (durch-) moves to the end in main clauses:
  • Ich streiche den Termin im Kalender durch.
• The past participle gets ge- between the prefix and the stem:
  • durch + ge + strichen → durchgestrichen

Gestricht is not a valid form; the correct participle of streichen is gestrichen, and with the separable prefix it becomes durchgestrichen.

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What exactly does durchgestrichen werden mean compared to just gestrichen werden?

• durchstreichen = to cross out, to strike through (visibly draw a line through text/an entry)
• streichen by itself is more general: to paint, to cancel, to cut (from a list)

So:

• durchgestrichen werden = to be crossed out (with a line through it)
• gestrichen werden = to be cancelled/removed (context-dependent, not necessarily visually crossed out)

In a calendar context:

• durchgestrichen werden emphasizes the physical action in the calendar: drawing a line through old appointments.
• gestrichen werden would mean they’re cancelled or removed, but doesn’t say how (deleted, not happening, etc.).

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Why is it im Kalender and not something like im Kalendarium or aus dem Kalender?

im Kalender is the most natural everyday expression:

• im = contraction of in dem (in + the, dative)
• Kalender = calendar (book, app, or wall calendar)

in + dative here expresses location: in the calendar, where the appointments are written.

Alternatives:

• aus dem Kalender streichen – literally to strike from the calendar (focus on removing them from the list)
• im Terminkalender – in the appointment calendar (more specific)
• aus dem Terminkalender streichen – from the appointments calendar

In your sentence, im Kalender focuses on where the crossing-out happens, not so much on the idea of removal from a list.

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Why do we use müssen here and not sollen or dürfen?

Each modal verb expresses a different nuance:

• müssen = must / have to → strong necessity or obligation
• sollen = should / supposed to → recommendation, instruction, weaker obligation, or reporting someone else’s wish
• dürfen = may / be allowed to → permission

In Alle alten Termine müssen im Kalender durchgestrichen werden:

• müssen indicates a firm requirement: it is necessary, not just advisable.
• With sollen:
  • Alle alten Termine sollen im Kalender durchgestrichen werden.
  • This feels more like an instruction or guideline, less strict than müssen.

So müssen fits if, for example, this is a rule in an office procedure.

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Why is müssen plural here and how do we know which form to use?

Müssen must agree with the subject:

• Subject: Alle alten Termine → clearly plural
• So we use sie (Plural) müssen

Quick overview of müssen in the present tense:

• ich muss
• du musst
• er/sie/es muss
• wir müssen
• ihr müsst
• sie/Sie müssen

Since Termine is plural, we conjugate as for sie (Plural): müssen.

If the subject were singular:

• Der alte Termin muss im Kalender durchgestrichen werden.
  • Der alte Termin = singular → muss

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Could this sentence be turned into an active sentence, and how would that change the feel?

Yes. A natural active version would be:

• Wir müssen alle alten Termine im Kalender durchstreichen.
  • We must cross out all the old appointments in the calendar.

Or with an unspecified subject:

• Man muss alle alten Termine im Kalender durchstreichen.
  • You/one must cross out all the old appointments in the calendar.

Difference in feel:

• Passive (original):
  
  • Alle alten Termine müssen im Kalender durchgestrichen werden.
  • Focuses on the appointments and what must happen to them; doer is irrelevant or unknown.
• Active:
  
  • Focuses on who has to perform the action (wir, man, etc.).

German often uses the passive or man when the agent is not important.

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Is the tense here strictly present, or can it refer to the future too?

Grammatically, it’s present tense:

• müssen is in the present: müssen

But in German, the present tense is often used with a future meaning, especially for:

• rules
• schedules
• planned procedures

So Alle alten Termine müssen im Kalender durchgestrichen werden can mean:

• All old appointments *must (now/always) be crossed out in the calendar.* (general rule)
• Or, in context, All the old appointments *will have to be crossed out in the calendar (soon).* (near future)

To make the future more explicit, you could say:

• Alle alten Termine werden im Kalender durchgestrichen werden müssen.
  (grammatically correct but heavy; usually avoided in favor of simple present + context)

So the given sentence is present in form, but can cover present or future depending on context.