Verbs: Passive Voice — German Grammar

The passive voice changes the focus of a sentence from the "doer" (the subject) to the object affected by the action. In German, this is primarily achieved using the auxiliary verb combined with the past participle (Partizip II) of the main verb.

The Process Passive (Vorgangspassiv)

The most common form of passive is the "Process Passive." It describes an action that is currently happening or being performed. To form this, conjugate in the present tense and place the past participle at the end of the sentence.

Das Auto wird repariert.
The car is being repaired.
Die Fenster werden geputzt.
The windows are being cleaned.

Identifying the Agent

In a passive sentence, the person or thing doing the action is often omitted. However, if you want to include the agent (the "doer"), you use specific prepositions:

Use (+ Dative) for people or active agents.
Use (+ Accusative) for means, instruments, or causes.

Der Kuchen wird von dem Bäcker gebacken.
The cake is being baked by the baker.
Die Stadt wurde durch das Feuer zerstört.
The city was destroyed by the fire.

Passive in the Past Tense

To speak about the past, you modify the auxiliary verb .

Simple Past (Präteritum)

Use the past forms of (e.g., , ).

Das Haus wurde 1990 gebaut.
The house was built in 1990.
Ich wurde nicht informiert.
I was not informed.

Present Perfect (Perfekt)

This requires a specific construction: (conjugated) + Past Participle + . Note that in the passive perfect, you use the shortened form instead of the full participle .

Das Auto ist verkauft worden.
The car has been sold.
Wir sind eingeladen worden.
We have been invited.

Passive in the Future

For the future tense, you use the present tense of as the auxiliary, and place the infinitive at the very end of the sentence, after the past participle.

Der Vertrag wird morgen unterschrieben werden.
The contract will be signed tomorrow.

The Stative Passive (Zustandspassiv)

German makes a distinction that English often does not. While the forms above describe an action taking place (Process Passive), the "Stative Passive" describes the result or state after an action is finished.

To form this, use (to be) instead of .

Der Laden wird geschlossen.
The shop is being closed. (Process: someone is locking the door right now)
Der Laden ist geschlossen.
The shop is closed. (State: the door is already locked)

Comments

Loading comments…