Learn Hardcore German: Die Hausarbeit muss bis Freitag abgegeben werden, weil der Abgabetermin fest ist. - The term paper has to be handed in by Friday because the submission deadline is fixed.

In German, the active sentence would need a person as the subject, e.g. Ich muss die Hausarbeit bis Freitag abgeben or Du musst die Hausarbeit bis Freitag abgeben.

Here, the speaker wants to focus on the work itself and the deadline, not on who is responsible, so German uses the passive: Die Hausarbeit muss … abgegeben werden (literally: The term paper must be handed in).

Passive is very common in rules, instructions, and formal contexts in German when the doer is general or unimportant (students, people, etc.).

Grammatically, what exactly is going on in muss bis Freitag abgegeben werden?

This is a combination of a modal verb plus the passive voice:

muss – modal verb müssen, 3rd person singular, present tense
abgegeben – past participle of abgeben (to hand in)
werden – auxiliary verb used to form the passive

So the structure is:
[subject] + muss + … + Partizip II (abgegeben) + werden
= Die Hausarbeit muss bis Freitag abgegeben werden.

This corresponds to English has to be handed in / must be handed in.

Why is the word order abgegeben werden at the end, and not werden abgegeben?

With a modal verb in a main clause, German sends the other verbs to the end, in a fixed order:

The past participle (here: abgegeben)
Then the infinitive of the auxiliary (here: werden)

So: muss … abgegeben werden.

If you move that whole verb complex to the end of the clause (for emphasis or in a subordinate clause), it becomes:
… dass die Hausarbeit bis Freitag abgegeben werden muss.
The internal order abgegeben werden stays the same.

Why is it bis Freitag without an article, and not bis den Freitag or bis zum Freitag?

With days of the week, dates, and many time expressions, German usually drops the article after bis:

bis Freitag – by Friday
bis Montag, bis nächste Woche, bis morgen

You can say bis zum Freitag, but it sounds more marked or specific, often when contrasting with another Friday or emphasizing that particular one.
In neutral, everyday usage, bis Freitag (no article) is standard.

Does bis Freitag mean “by Friday” including Friday, or “until Friday” but not including Friday?

In context of deadlines like this, bis Freitag is normally understood as:

“by Friday at the latest”, and
it includes Friday.

So you may hand it in on Friday, but not later.
If someone wanted to exclude Friday, they’d usually say it differently (e.g. spätestens bis Donnerstag).

Why is it weil der Abgabetermin fest ist and not weil der Abgabetermin ist fest?

Weil introduces a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses the finite verb goes to the very end.

So the pattern is:
weil + [subject] + [other elements] + verb (finte verb) at the end

Correct: weil der Abgabetermin fest ist
Incorrect: ✗ weil der Abgabetermin ist fest

This verb-final word order is one of the key differences between main and subordinate clauses in German.

Could we use denn instead of weil here, and what would change?

Yes, you can say:

Die Hausarbeit muss bis Freitag abgegeben werden, denn der Abgabetermin ist fest.

The difference:

weil: introduces a subordinate clause → verb goes to the end (… fest ist).
denn: is a coordinating conjunction → normal main-clause word order (… ist fest).

In terms of meaning, both give a reason. Weil is more common in spoken German; denn can sound a bit more written/formal or explanatory.

What exactly does fest mean in der Abgabetermin ist fest?

Here fest means fixed, firm, not flexible.
So der Abgabetermin ist fest = the submission deadline is fixed / non-negotiable.

It doesn’t mean party (that would be the noun das Fest).
Grammatically, fest is a predicate adjective: ist fest = is fixed.

What does the compound noun Abgabetermin consist of, and why is it der Abgabetermin?

Abgabetermin is a compound made of:

Abgabe – handing in, submission
Termin – appointment, date, deadline

In German, the gender of a compound noun is determined by the last part.
Since Termin is masculine (der Termin), the whole compound is masculine: der Abgabetermin.

What is the difference between Hausarbeit and Hausaufgabe?

They’re not interchangeable:

Hausaufgabe (usually plural: Hausaufgaben)
– school homework (exercises to do at home, especially for pupils).
Hausarbeit
– at university: a term paper / written assignment
– in everyday speech (less in this context): housework.

In this sentence, Hausarbeit clearly means an academic written paper, not simple homework.

Why is the verb muss used and not soll or kann?

müssen expresses necessity / obligation: something has to be done.

Die Hausarbeit muss … abgegeben werden = The paper has to/must be handed in.
sollen would mean is supposed to / is meant to (weaker, more like expectation).
können would indicate possibility or permission (can be handed in by Friday).

Given the context of a strict deadline, muss is the natural choice.

Could we say Die Hausarbeit ist bis Freitag abzugeben instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, that is correct and quite common in formal or written instructions:

Die Hausarbeit ist bis Freitag abzugeben.

This is a kind of impersonal passive / official style.
It’s slightly more formal and bureaucratic than muss abgegeben werden, but the practical meaning (obligation by Friday) is almost the same.

Why is the tense present (muss … abgegeben werden, ist fest) if the deadline is in the future?

German very often uses the present tense for future events, especially when the time reference is clear from context or from a time expression:

Die Hausarbeit muss bis Freitag abgegeben werden.
Wir fahren morgen nach Berlin.

You could theoretically say wird abgegeben werden müssen, but that sounds very heavy and unnatural here.
The simple present with a time expression (bis Freitag) is the normal way.

Why is werden used for the passive, and not sein?

In German:

werden + Partizip II forms the event/process passive (something is being done).
- Die Hausarbeit muss abgegeben werden.
sein + Partizip II forms a result state, (something is in a done state).
- Die Hausarbeit ist abgegeben. = The paper is handed in (the result).

For a rule about what must happen, we talk about the action, so German uses the werden-passive.