Introduction to Passive Voice
The passive voice in German is used to emphasize the action or the object of the action rather than the subject performing it. It is often used when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context.
In German, the passive voice is mainly formed using the auxiliary verb werden plus the past participle of the main verb. There is also a form of passive using sein, which describes a state or result.
Das Buch wird gelesen.
Das Bookt virt gay-leh-zn.
The book is being read.
The "Werden" Passive
The most common way to form the passive voice is with the verb werden conjugated in the required tense plus the past participle of the main verb. This form expresses an ongoing or general action.
Structure: Subject + werden + past participle
Die Tür wird geöffnet.
Dee Tür virt ge-öff-net.
The door is being opened.
Der Brief wird geschrieben.
Der Brieff virt ge-schree-ben.
The letter is being written.
The "Sein" Passive
The passive formed with sein plus the past participle describes a state or condition resulting from an action. It is sometimes called the "state passive" (Zustandspassiv).
Structure: Subject + sein + past participle
Die Tür ist geöffnet.
Dee Tür ist ge-öff-net.
The door is opened (i.e., it remains open).
Der Brief ist geschrieben.
Der Brieff ist ge-shree-ben.
The letter is written (and is now in that state).
Conjugation of "Werden" in Passive
To use the passive voice correctly, you must conjugate the verb werden in the desired tense. The past participle remains unchanged.
| Tense | Example (machen - to do/make) |
|---|---|
| Present (Präsens) | Das Auto wird gemacht. |
| Simple Past (Präteritum) | Das Auto wurde gemacht. |
| Present Perfect (Perfekt) | Das Auto ist gemacht worden. |
| Past Perfect (Plusquamperfekt) | Das Auto war gemacht worden. |
| Future I (Futur I) | Das Auto wird gemacht werden. |
Past Passive Forms
The past passive uses the past tense of werden plus the past participle to indicate actions that were done in the past.
Das Haus wurde gebaut.
Das House vur-deh gebaut.
The house was built.
For expressing completed actions, the perfect passive uses sein plus past participle and worden at the end.
Das Haus ist gebaut worden.
Das House ist gebaut worden.
The house has been built.
Passive with Modal Verbs
When using modal verbs in the passive, the modal verb is conjugated and placed in the second position. The infinitive of werden goes to the end of the sentence, followed by the past participle.
Structure: Subject + modal verb + past participle + werden
Das Auto muss repariert werden.
Das Auto muss re-pa-ree-rt werden.
The car must be repaired.
Die Fenster sollen geputzt werden.
Dee Fenster zollen ge-putst werden.
The windows should be cleaned.
Practice Examples
Try to identify the passive voice and translate these sentences:
Der Brief wird von dem Lehrer korrigiert.
Der Brief virt fon dem Leh-rer kor-ri-gi-rt.
The letter is being corrected by the teacher.
Die Aufgaben sind fertig gemacht.
Dee Auf-ga-ben zint fertich gemacht.
The tasks are finished.
Das Essen wird gekocht.
Das Essen virt gekocht.
The food is being cooked.
Answer Key:
- Passive with "werden" - ongoing action
- State passive with "sein" - finished state
- Passive with "werden" - ongoing action
Tips for Remembering Rules
- Remember that the "werden" passive focuses on the action happening, while the "sein" passive focuses on the state or result.
- Always use the past participle of the main verb in the passive construction.
- When using modal verbs, place the modal verb in second position and "werden" at the end.
- Practice conjugating werden in different tenses to become comfortable with passive forms.
- Look for clues like "von" + agent to identify the doer when it is mentioned.