Alle Fragen sollen im Kurs beantwortet werden.

All questions should be answered in the course.

Breakdown of Alle Fragen sollen im Kurs beantwortet werden.

• sollen: should
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• alle: all
• die Frage: the question
• der Kurs: the course
• beantwortet werden: to be answered

Questions & Answers about Alle Fragen sollen im Kurs beantwortet werden.

What does sollen mean in this sentence, and how is it different from using just werden?

In Alle Fragen sollen im Kurs beantwortet werden, sollen expresses an intention, plan, rule, or expectation:
“All questions are supposed to / are to / should be answered in the course.”

If you said Alle Fragen werden im Kurs beantwortet, with werden as the only finite verb, you would have a simple passive in the present tense:
“All questions are (being) answered in the course.” (a neutral statement of fact or prediction)

So:

• sollen = obligation / plan / intention (“are supposed to be …”)
• werden (passive) = plain fact or prediction (“are …” / “will be …”)

Using sollen makes it sound like a course rule or goal rather than just a description.

Is this sentence in the passive voice? How is that passive formed?

Yes, it is passive.

• The grammatical subject is Alle Fragen (all questions).
• The action is beantworten (to answer).
• The agent (the person who answers) is not mentioned.

The passive with a modal verb is formed like this:

Modal verb (finite) + Participle II + werden (infinitive)

In this sentence:

• Modal verb (finite, 3rd person plural): sollen
• Participle II (past participle) of beantworten: beantwortet
• werden in the infinitive at the end: werden

So the structure is:
Alle Fragen – sollen – im Kurs – beantwortet werden.

Why do we say beantwortet werden and not just beantwortet or geantwortet?

Three things are going on here:

1. Passive construction with a modal
   With a modal verb (sollen), German uses:

   • participle (beantwortet)
   • plus werden (infinitive) at the end

   So you need both: beantwortet werden, not just beantwortet.

2. beantworten vs antworten

   • beantworten takes a direct object and means “to answer (something)”:
     • eine Frage beantworten – to answer a question
   • antworten is intransitive and usually takes auf + Akkusativ:
     • auf eine Frage antworten – to answer a question (literally “answer to a question”)

   Since Fragen are the things being answered, you must use the verb that takes them as a direct object: Fragen beantworten, not Fragen antworten.

3. geantwortet is the participle of antworten, not of beantworten.
   Here we need the participle of beantworten, which is beantwortet.

What case is Alle Fragen in, and why does it look like that?

Formally, Alle Fragen here is nominative plural, because it is the grammatical subject of the passive sentence.

Declension of die Frage (feminine):

• Singular nominative: die Frage
• Plural nominative: die Fragen

With alle:

• Singular: alle Frage (very rare; usually jede Frage etc.)
• Plural: alle Fragen

But in practice, alle is almost always used with the plural: alle Fragen.

A bit confusing: in the active sentence, alle Fragen would be accusative plural (direct object):

• Active: Der Lehrer beantwortet alle Fragen. (accusative object)
• Passive: Alle Fragen werden (vom Lehrer) beantwortet. (nominative subject)

Nominative and accusative plural of feminine nouns look the same (Fragen), so the form doesn’t change even though the grammatical role changes.

Why is it Alle Fragen and not Alle Frage or Alles Fragen?

Because:

1. Frage is a feminine noun:

   • Singular: die Frage
   • Plural: die Fragen

2. alle here modifies a plural noun and therefore takes the plural ending:

   • alle Fragen = all questions

3. Alles is neuter and singular (from alles = “everything”).
   You could say alle Fragen (all questions) or alles (everything), but alles Fragen is incorrect.

So the correct plural phrase is alle Fragen.

Why is it im Kurs and not in den Kurs or in dem Kurs?

im is just the contracted form of in dem (preposition + article):

• in
  • dem (dative masculine / neuter) → im

Kurs is masculine (der Kurs). In this sentence, in expresses location (“in the course”), not movement into something, so it takes the dative:

• Location (dative): im Kurs = in dem Kurs = in the course
• Direction (accusative): in den Kurs = into the course (movement towards)

So:

• in dem Kurs (dative, full form) → contracted: im Kurs
• in den Kurs (accusative) would mean something like “into the course” and would not fit the meaning here.

What is the basic word order of this sentence, and why is werden at the end?

The basic structure of a main clause in German is:

1. Position 1: some element (subject, object, adverbial, etc.)
2. Position 2: the finite verb (the conjugated verb)
3. Middle field: other elements (objects, adverbials, participles, infinitives, etc.)
4. Final position: non-finite verbs (infinitives, participles) and zu, in a fixed cluster

In Alle Fragen sollen im Kurs beantwortet werden:

1. Position 1: Alle Fragen
2. Position 2 (finite verb): sollen
3. Middle field: im Kurs beantwortet
4. Final position: werden (infinitive)

When you combine a modal verb (sollen) and a passive (beantwortet werden), the conjugated modal goes in second position, and the participle + werden go to the end, with werden in the very last position.

Could I also say Im Kurs sollen alle Fragen beantwortet werden? Is that correct, and what changes?

Yes, that is perfectly correct:

• Im Kurs sollen alle Fragen beantwortet werden.

This just changes the emphasis:

• Alle Fragen sollen im Kurs beantwortet werden.
  Emphasis on all questions (none will be left unanswered).

• Im Kurs sollen alle Fragen beantwortet werden.
  Emphasis on in the course (in this setting / during this course).

Both sentences are grammatically fine and mean the same in most contexts; the difference is which part you highlight first.

Could I say Alle Fragen werden im Kurs beantwortet instead? How does the meaning differ?

Yes, you can say:

• Alle Fragen werden im Kurs beantwortet.

This is a straightforward present passive:

• All questions are (being) answered in the course.

The difference:

• Alle Fragen sollen im Kurs beantwortet werden.
  → There is a plan, rule, or expectation. They are supposed to be answered.

• Alle Fragen werden im Kurs beantwortet.
  → Neutral statement: this is what actually happens (or is very likely to happen). It can sound more like a promise or factual description than a rule.

So sollen introduces a sense of intention / obligation that plain werden doesn’t have.

What tense is the sentence in, and how would I say it in the past?

The sentence is in the present tense with a modal verb:

• sollen is present (3rd person plural)

To put a modal + passive construction into the past (Präteritum), you normally:

• change the modal to past (Präteritum),
• keep beantwortet
  • werden in the infinitive.

Example:

• Present: Alle Fragen sollen im Kurs beantwortet werden.
• Past: Alle Fragen sollten im Kurs beantwortet werden.
  → All questions were supposed to be answered in the course.

If you want a factual past passive without the nuance of sollen, you could say:

• Alle Fragen wurden im Kurs beantwortet.
  → All questions were answered in the course.

What is the difference between Fragen as a noun and fragen as a verb?

• fragen (lowercase) is a verb: to ask.

  • Ich frage den Lehrer. – I ask the teacher.

• Frage / Fragen (capitalized) is a noun: question / questions.

  • Ich habe eine Frage. – I have a question.
  • Ich habe viele Fragen. – I have many questions.

In Alle Fragen sollen im Kurs beantwortet werden, Fragen is a noun in the plural, so it must be capitalized.

Why is it im Kurs and not im Unterricht? Is there a difference?

Both are possible, but they are not identical in meaning:

• der Kurs = the course (as a structured class or series of lessons, often with a fixed duration, topic, and maybe enrollment)
• der Unterricht = instruction / teaching / class (the act of teaching or the lesson time itself)

So:

• Alle Fragen sollen im Kurs beantwortet werden.
  → Within this specific course (as part of this course program), all questions are supposed to be answered.

• Alle Fragen sollen im Unterricht beantwortet werden.
  → During lessons / class time, all questions are supposed to be answered.

Context decides which word fits better, but both forms are grammatically fine.

Why do we use beantworten and not lösen or klären?

These verbs express different actions:

• eine Frage beantworten
  → to answer a question (give a response)

• ein Problem lösen
  → to solve a problem (find a solution)

• etwas klären
  → to clarify something; to clear something up

For Fragen (questions), the standard collocation is Fragen beantworten. You could say:

• Alle Fragen sollen im Kurs geklärt werden.
  → “All questions should be clarified in the course.”
  (focus on removing confusion, not necessarily giving a direct Q&A-style answer)

But Fragen lösen is not idiomatic. lösen goes with problems, tasks, exercises:

• Aufgaben lösen, Probleme lösen, Rätsel lösen

So beantworten is the natural verb for Fragen here.