Breakdown of Ремни безопасности должны быть пристёгнуты перед тем как начнётся поездка.
быть
to be
должен
must, have to (должен, должна, должны)
поездка
trip, journey
перед тем как
before
начаться
to start (perfective)
безопасность
safety, security
ремень
the belt
пристегнуть
to buckle
Questions & Answers about Ремни безопасности должны быть пристёгнуты перед тем как начнётся поездка.
How does the passive construction work in должны быть пристёгнуты?
This sentence uses a modal predicate (должны) followed by the infinitive быть and a short past passive participle (пристёгнуты). Because the subject ремни (belts) is plural, both the modal должны and the short participle пристёгнуты must be in the plural form to agree with it.
Could we use the long-form participle пристёгнутые instead of пристёгнуты here?
No. In this passive infinitive construction, the verb быть must be followed by the short form of the past passive participle. Short participles act like predicates (stating what happens to the subject), whereas long-form participles usually act like descriptive adjectives within a noun phrase.
Why do we need the whole phrase перед тем как instead of just the preposition перед?
Перед can only be followed by a noun or pronoun in the Instrumental case (for example, перед поездкой meaning 'before the trip'). Because we have a full dependent clause with its own subject and verb (начнётся поездка), we have to use the compound conjunction перед тем как to connect the two clauses.
Why is начнётся in the reflexive form here?
In Russian, the non-reflexive verb начать requires a direct object, meaning an active agent begins something. Since the trip (поездка) is the subject and is simply beginning on its own in this clause, you must use the reflexive, intransitive form начаться. It is in the future perfective tense here because it refers to a specific, one-time future event.
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