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In German, there are two types of passive: Process Passive (Vorgangspassiv) and Status Passive (Zustandpassiv). They have different meanings, constructions, and uses. In this lesson we focus on the Process Passive.
The Process Passive (Vorgangspassiv)
Examples:
- „Die Frau wurde angefahren.“
- „Ein Verband wurde der Frau angelegt.“
- „Die Frau wird ins Krankenhaus gebracht.“
In these sentences, the most important information is: Someone was run into, a bandage was put on her, the woman was driven to the hospital.
Formation of the Vorgangspassiv
Present Tense:
It's made of two parts:
werden (conjugated) + past participle
Example:
- „Der Kuchen wird (vom Bäcker) gebacken.“
"Werden" is conjugated and the past participle goes at the end of the sentence.
With Modal Verbs:
It's made of three parts:
modal verb (conjugated) + werden + past participle
Example:
- „Der Kuchen muss gebacken werden.“
The modal verb is conjugated and goes in position 2 (or position 1 for questions), werden is in the infinitive form (goes at the end), and the past participle is in the second to last position.
Vorgangspassiv in all Tenses
That might seem like a lot to remember, but it all follows a basic principle: follow the normal rules of the tense, but the main verb is the combination "werden" + past participle. "Werden" is conjugated like any other main verb in that tense.
From Active to Passive
How to transform an active sentence into a (process) passive sentence:
- The accusative object becomes the subject.
- The subject is removed or replaced by "von" + the noun in the dative case.
- The verb is put in the past participle form and the conjugated helping verb "werden" is used.
Examples in All Tenses
Vorgangspassiv in the Präsens (Simple Present):
Active:
- „Der Mann öffnet das Fenster.“
- „Die Frau liest das Buch.“
Passive: ("werden" + past participle)
- „Das Fenster wird (vom Mann) geöffnet.“
- „Das Buch wird (von der Frau) gelesen.“
Vorgangspassiv in Präteritum (Simple Past):
Active:
- „Der Mann öffnete das Fenster.“
- „Die Frau las das Buch.“
Passive: ("wurden" + past participle)
- „Das Fenster wurde (vom Mann) geöffnet.“
- „Das Buch wurde (von der Frau) gelesen.“
Vorgangspassiv in Perfekt (Perfect Tense):
Active:
- „Der Mann hat das Fenster geöffnet.“
- „Die Frau hat das Buch gelesen.“
Passive: ("sein" + past participle + "worden")
- „Das Fenster ist (vom Mann) geöffnet worden.“
- „Das Buch ist (von der Frau) gelesen worden.“
Vorgangspassiv in Plusquamperfekt (Past Perfect):
Active:
- „Der Mann hatte das Fenster geöffnet.“
- „Die Frau hatte das Buch gelesen.“
Passive: ("waren" + past participle + "worden")
- „Das Fenster war (vom Mann) geöffnet worden.“
- „Das Buch war (von der Frau) gelesen worden.“
Vorgangspassiv in Futur 1 (Werden-Future):
Active:
- „Der Mann wird das Fenster öffnen.“
- „Die Frau wird das Buch lesen.“
Passive: ("werden" + past participle + werden)
- „Das Fenster wird (vom Mann) geöffnet werden.“
- „Das Buch wird (von der Frau) gelesen werden.“
Vorgangspassiv in Futur 2 (Process Future):
Active:
- „Der Mann wird das Fenster geöffnet haben.“
- „Die Frau wird das Buch gelesen haben.“
Passive: ("werden" + past participle + "worden" + "sein")
- „Das Fenster wird (vom Mann) geöffnet worden sein.“
- „Das Buch wird (von der Frau) gelesen worden sein.
Word Order
Normal Sentences:
In Question:
Verbs without Passive Voice
Some forms can't be used in the passive voice These are verbs that use "sein" in the construction of the perfect tense, reflexive verbs, and verbs that describe a status (and not an action).
Examples:
Verbs that use the verb „sein” in the Perfect Tense
- „Ich bin (zum Zahnarzt) gegangen.“
Passive is not possible because I can only walk by myself → Nobody can do it for me → No passive possible.
True Reflexive Verbs
- „Ich konzentriere mich.“
Passive isn't possible because the subject is also the object being acted upon. The subject is important. Nobody can do it for me → No passive possible.
Verbs that don't describe an action (and instead only describe a condition) can't use the passive voice:
- i.e. „besitzen“, „haben“, „wissen“, „kennen“…
In passive, the action is important. For these verbs, there is no action, and normally only a condition/status is stated → No passive possible.
Related Topics:
Entire lesson in German only: Vorgangspassiv
You can find more lessons on Verbs here:
- Was sind Verben? (What are Verbs?)
- Starke Verben (Strong Verbs)
- „sein“ und „haben“ ("sein" and "haben")
- Reflexive Verben (Reflexive Verbs)
- Trennbare & Untrennbare Verben (Separable & Inseparable Verbs)
- Modalverben (Modal Verbs)
- Partizip 1 (Present Participle)
- Partizip 2 (Past Participle)
- Das Verb „werden” (Verb "werden")
- Das Verb „lassen” (Verb "lassen")
- Imperativ (Imperative)
- Konjunktiv 1 (Subjunctive 1)
- Konjunktiv 2 (Subjunctive 2)
- Das Passiv (Passive Voice)
- Das Passiv in allen zeitformen (Process Passive in all tenses)
- Verben ohne Passiv (Verbs without Passive voice)
- Zustandpassiv (Status Passive)
- Das unpersönliche Passiv (Impersonal Passive)
- Verben mit Ergänzungen (Verbs with Complements)
- Verben mit Nominativ (Verbs with Nominative)
- Verben mit Akkusativ (Verbs with Accusative)
- Verben mit doppeltem Akkusativ (Verbs with double Accusative)
- Verben mit Dativ (Verbs with Dative)
- Verben mit Akkusativ & Dativ (Verbs with Accusative & Dative)
- Verben mit Genitiv (Verbs with Genitive)
- Verben mit Präpositionen (Verbs with Prepositions)
Lists on the topic of German verbs:
- Die 30 wichtigsten Verben mit Vokalwechsel (The 30 most important verbs with vowel change)
- Untrennbare Präfixe (Inseparable Prefixes)
- Wechselpräfixe (Two-case Prefixes)
- Unregelmäßige Partizip 2 Formen (Irregular Participle 2 forms)
- Nomen-Verb-Verbindungen (Noun-Verb compounds)
You can find an overview of all topics under German Grammar.
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