Breakdown of Рельс должен быть надёжно закреплён, чтобы избежать аварии.
быть
to be
должен
must, have to
надёжный
reliable
чтобы
in order to
авария
accident
избежать
to avoid
закрепить
to secure
рельс
the rail
Questions & Answers about Рельс должен быть надёжно закреплён, чтобы избежать аварии.
Why are должен and закреплён in the masculine form here?
Although рельс ends in a soft sign, it is a masculine noun. Therefore, the modal word должен and the short past passive participle закреплён must both take the masculine singular form to agree with it.
The adverb надёжно sits right in the middle of the passive construction (быть надёжно закреплён). Is this word order required?
It is not strictly required, but it is the most natural word order. Placing an adverb right before the participle it modifies emphasizes exactly how the action must be performed. You will see this sandwich structure (verb + adverb + participle) very often in these passive constructions.
How exactly is the short participle закреплён formed?
It is derived from the perfective verb закрепить (to fasten). The full past passive participle is закреплённый. To create the short masculine form used in this passive construction, you drop the adjective ending -ный, leaving закреплён. Note that the ё is always stressed.
Why is the word for accident in the genitive case (аварии) instead of the accusative?
The perfective verb избежать (to avoid) always requires its object to be in the genitive case. This is a common pattern to memorize: verbs dealing with avoiding, lacking, or fearing typically take the genitive.
Why do we use the infinitive избежать after чтобы instead of a conjugated past-tense verb?
When чтобы translates to 'in order to' and the action does not have a new, specific subject, it is followed by an infinitive. You only use чтобы + past tense when introducing a different subject, such as 'чтобы он избежал аварии' (so that he avoids an accident).
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