Passiv — the passive voice

Passive voice puts the action in the spotlight instead of the person doing it. The door was opened. Coffee is being brewed. Who did it? Nobody cares — what matters is the action and who it happened TO. German loves this in news, instructions, and descriptions.

The shape

werden (conjugated) + Partizip II (at the end).

Same verbal-bracket shape you've been using forever. Auxiliary in slot 2, participle at the end.

The two tense slots you'll use most

A thing to notice about Perfekt Passiv: the Partizip II of werden is worden (not geworden, which is its own separate meaning "became"). This is a quirk locked in for passive only.

Vorgangspassiv vs. Zustandspassiv

German splits passive into two flavors that English blurs together.

Die Tür wird geöffnet = someone is pushing it open right now. Die Tür ist geöffnet = the opening is done; the door stands open.

Zustandspassiv is technically more adjective-with-sein than true passive, but dictionaries label it as a flavor of passive and it's worth knowing the distinction.

Showing who did it: von + Dativ

When you DO want to name the doer, attach it with von (+ Dativ) for people and animals. For impersonal causes — weather, tools — use durch (+ Akkusativ).

Most passive sentences, though, don't name an agent. That's the whole point — the actor isn't the focus.

Turning an active sentence into passive

The direct object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive one. The original subject (the doer) either disappears or moves to a von-phrase.

Flowchart:

1. Find the direct object (Akkusativ) in the active. → New subject.
2. Conjugate werden to match the new subject.
3. Put the main verb as Partizip II at the end.

Passive with modals

When a modal sits on a passive, you still only have one werden — the one in infinitive form. The modal takes slot 2; werden tucks against the participle.

Intransitive verbs → impersonal passive

Some verbs (like tanzen, arbeiten, helfen) don't have a direct object. German can still passive-ify them using es as a filler subject.

If you start with Es, it fills slot 1. If anything else fills slot 1 (a time or place phrase), Es disappears — it's just a grammatical placeholder.

Common mistakes, named

1. Using geworden in passive Perfekt. Das Haus ist gebaut geworden. ❌ → Das Haus ist gebaut worden. ✓

2. Forgetting to put the participle last. Der Brief wird geschrieben von mir. ❌ technically OK but awkward; better Der Brief wird von mir geschrieben.

3. Confusing Zustandspassiv with Perfekt. Die Tür ist geöffnet. = State (the door is open). Die Tür ist geöffnet worden. = Action-past (the door has been opened).

4. Translating literally into German. Passive is common in German — but don't overuse it. Der Bäcker backt das Brot is the natural way to describe an active event. Passive is for when the actor doesn't matter.

Mini check

Where this leads

Infinitive clauses — sentences built around zu + infinitive. I decided to leave. It's hard to say. Very common pattern, a few rules about when zu appears or disappears.

Next up: Infinitivsätze — zu-infinitive clauses.

Test yourself