Learn Hardcore German: Das Paket soll an der Tür abgegeben werden. - The package is supposed to be dropped off at the door.

If you said Das Paket wird an der Tür abgegeben, that would mean “The package is (being) delivered at the door” – more like a neutral statement of fact, not an instruction.

Why is the verb split at the end as abgegeben werden? Why not just one verb?

There are two important things going on:

Passive voice
- Basic active: Jemand gibt das Paket an der Tür ab.
  (Someone drops off the package at the door.)
- Passive: Das Paket wird an der Tür abgegeben.
  (The package is dropped off at the door.)
In the passive, German uses:
- a form of werden +
- Partizip II (past participle) of the main verb
Here: abgegeben is the participle of abgeben.
Combination with a modal verb (sollen)
With a modal in German, the main verb appears as an infinitive at the end.
For the passive infinitive, you need Partizip II + werden:
- abgegeben werden = to be dropped off / to be delivered

So the structure is:

soll (modal, conjugated)
abgegeben werden (passive infinitive at the end)

That’s why the end of the sentence has two words: abgegeben werden.

What is the subject of the sentence? Is das Paket nominative?

Yes, Das Paket is the subject and it’s in the nominative case.

Das Paket – nominative singular neuter
It’s the thing that the sentence is about; it “undergoes” the action.

In the corresponding active sentence:

Jemand gibt das Paket an der Tür ab.
- Jemand = subject (nominative)
- das Paket = direct object (accusative)

In the passive:

Das Paket soll an der Tür abgegeben werden.
- das Paket becomes the subject (nominative)
- the original subject (Jemand) disappears or can be added with von:
  - Das Paket soll von dem Boten an der Tür abgegeben werden.

What case is der in an der Tür, and why is it not an die Tür?

Der here is dative singular feminine.

Tür is feminine: die Tür (nominative).
In the dative singular, die Tür → der Tür.

The preposition an can take dative or accusative:

Accusative = motion to a place (direction):
- an die Tür (to the door / up to the door)
Dative = location at a place (position):
- an der Tür (at the door)

In Das Paket soll an der Tür abgegeben werden, the idea is location:
The final place where the package ends up is at the door, not the movement toward it.
So German uses dative: an der Tür.

What’s the difference between an der Tür and vor der Tür? Both are “at the door”, right?

Both can translate as “at the door,” but they have different nuances:

an der Tür
- literally: on/at the door
- suggests being right at, by, or even on the door (e.g. hanging on it, leaning against it, at the doorstep)
- often used for people at the door (someone ringing, standing at the door)
vor der Tür
- literally: in front of the door
- emphasizes being in front of, near the entrance, not necessarily touching the door
- common for things placed on the ground outside

For a parcel, both can appear, but:

an der Tür abgeben: general “hand over / deliver at the door” (e.g., hand it to someone who opens).
vor der Tür abstellen / hinlegen: explicitly “put it in front of the door” (on the ground).

So Das Paket soll an der Tür abgegeben werden sounds more like it should be handed over at the door rather than just left on the ground in front of it.

Why do we use werden for the passive and not sein?

German has two different passive-like constructions:

Vorgangspassiv (process/event passive) – uses werden
- Focus on the action / process: something is being done.
- Example: Das Paket wird an der Tür abgegeben.
  (The package is [being] delivered at the door.)
Zustandspassiv (state/result passive) – uses sein
- Focus on the resulting state after something happened.
- Example: Das Paket ist an der Tür abgegeben.
  This sounds odd in everyday speech; more natural is e.g.:
  - Die Tür ist geschlossen. (The door is closed.)
  - Das Paket ist abgegeben. (The package has been handed in / is delivered.) – rare, stylistic.

In Das Paket soll an der Tür abgegeben werden, we’re talking about an action that is supposed to happen, so German uses the Vorgangspassiv with werden.

Could I say Das Paket wird an der Tür abgegeben werden? What would that mean?

Grammatically, Das Paket wird an der Tür abgegeben werden is future passive:

wird … werden marks the future
abgegeben is still the participle

It would mean:

“The package will be dropped off at the door.”

However:

It sounds very formal / stiff in normal spoken German.
In many contexts, German simply uses the present tense to talk about the future, especially with time context or modals like sollen:
- More natural:
  - Das Paket soll morgen an der Tür abgegeben werden.
  - Das Paket wird morgen an der Tür abgegeben.

So your version is possible but rarely needed in everyday language.

What is abgegeben exactly, and how does the verb abgeben work?

Abgegeben is the Partizip II (past participle) of the verb abgeben.

abgeben is a separable verb: ab + geben
- Present:
  - Ich gebe das Paket an der Tür ab.
    (I drop off the package at the door.)
  - The ab goes to the end when conjugated.
- Perfect:
  - Ich habe das Paket an der Tür abgegeben.
  - gegeben
    - prefix ab → abgegeben

In the passive:

Das Paket wird an der Tür abgegeben.
(abgegeben used with werden.)

In your sentence with sollen:

abgegeben werden is the passive infinitive of abgeben.

What tense is soll here? Does this sentence refer to the present or the future?

Soll is present tense (3rd person singular of sollen):

ich soll
du sollst
er/sie/es soll
wir sollen, etc.

However, in German, present tense + modal often implies a future or planned action, especially with context.

So Das Paket soll an der Tür abgegeben werden typically refers to:

a rule / instruction about what will happen or should happen (often in the near future), not something happening right now.

In English we naturally translate it with a future-like meaning:

“The package is supposed to be left at the door.”
(implicitly: when it is delivered, in the future).

How would I say “The delivery person is supposed to leave the package at the door” more explicitly?

You can make the agent (the doer) explicit by adding von:

Der Bote soll das Paket an der Tür abgeben.
- Active voice, very natural.
- “The courier is supposed to drop off the package at the door.”

Or in passive, still mentioning the agent:

Das Paket soll von dem Boten an der Tür abgegeben werden.
- “The package is supposed to be dropped off at the door by the courier.”

In everyday speech, the active version (Der Bote soll …) is more common when you want to name who should do it.

Can you break down the sentence word by word with roles?

Yes:

Das – definite article, nominative singular neuter, for Paket
Paket – noun, subject of the sentence
soll – 3rd person singular present of modal verb sollen (expresses obligation / instruction)
an – two-way preposition (here with dative, indicating location “at”)
der – definite article, dative singular feminine, for Tür
Tür – noun, object of the preposition an (prepositional phrase of location)
abgegeben – Partizip II (past participle) of abgeben
werden – infinitive of werden, forming the passive infinitive together with abgegeben

Structure in simple labels:

Subject: Das Paket
Modal verb (finite): soll
Place: an der Tür
Passive infinitive (action): abgegeben werden

Overall meaning:
“The package is supposed to be dropped off at the door.”