1.How the passive works
Passiv Präsens is formed as werden + Partizip II. The centre is usually the action itself or its result; often it does not matter who performs the action. If the agent still needs to be named, von + dative is added.
2.What is the agent?
The agent is the person, group or organisation that performs the action. In the active, the agent is usually the subject. In the passive it may be absent or stand in a von + dative phrase.
3.Active and passive compared
Information about the doctor is kept, but the doctor is no longer the grammatical centre of the sentence.
4.Why the agent is often omitted
In the passive the agent may be unknown, unimportant, obvious, general or deliberately not in focus.
5.When is von + dative useful?
When the process stays central but the agent still matters.
6.The basic structure
Pattern: passive + von + dative. The finite verb is a form of werden; Partizip II stays at the end of the frame.
| Subject | werden | von + dative | Partizip II |
|---|---|---|---|
| Das Haus | wird | von einer Firma | gebaut. |
| Das Paket | wird | von einem Kurier | geliefert. |
7.von requires the dative
After von the case is always dative. Very often von dem contracts to vom.
8.Main article forms after von
| Base form | Dative after von |
|---|---|
| der Mann | von dem Mann / vom Mann |
| die Frau | von der Frau |
| das Kind | von dem Kind / vom Kind |
| die Mitarbeiter | von den Mitarbeitern |
9.von dem → vom
The contraction is very common with masculine and neuter nouns.
10.von der
With feminine nouns the dative article der does not contract with von.
| von der Ärztin | von der Firma | von der Lehrerin | von der Polizei |
11.von den + plural
In the plural: von den + dative plural. Where possible, dative plural adds -n.
| Nominative plural | after von |
|---|---|
| die Mitarbeiter | von den Mitarbeitern |
| die Ärzte | von den Ärzten |
| die Eltern | von den Eltern |
12.Indefinite articles
| von einem Mann | von einer Frau | von einem Kind |
13.Possessive articles
Possessive articles also stand in the dative.
| von meinem Chef | von meiner Kollegin | von unseren Nachbarn | von seiner Mutter |
14.Proper names
With names an article is usually not needed.
| von Anna | von Paul | von Frau Weber | von Herrn Klein |
15.von + personal pronoun
Pronouns after von are also dative.
| Person | Form after von |
|---|---|
| ich | von mir |
| du | von dir |
| er | von ihm |
| sie | von ihr |
| es | von ihm |
| wir | von uns |
| ihr | von euch |
| sie | von ihnen |
| Sie | von Ihnen |
16.Active → passive with von
Steps: accusative object → new subject; form the passive; add the agent with von + dative.
17.What happens to the active subject?
The active subject is no longer the subject and, if needed, appears in a von + dative phrase.
18.What happens to the accusative object?
The accusative object becomes the passive subject. That is the main structural change.
19.A passive sentence is complete without von
The von phrase is extra information, not a required part of the passive.
20.The agent is no longer the main focus
In the active the firm is often central; in the passive the package or the delivery is. The firm can still be named without being the main focus.
21.Typical contexts
von + dative is especially common in work, services, authorities, school, medicine, production, repairs, delivery, organisation and the media.
22.Work
23.School and courses
24.Medicine
25.Repairs
26.Delivery
27.Authorities and organisations
28.Production
29.Media
30.von or durch?
At A2 a simple distinction is useful. von usually names the agent; durch often names a cause, means or process. This is not an absolute rule for every context, but it is a helpful A2 model.
31.Person or institution → often von
A doctor, a company and a teacher are agents.
32.Cause → often durch
Snow, weather and wind are causes, not deliberate agents.
33.Process or means → often durch
Here a program is presented as a technical means or process.
Useful model: von → agent; durch → cause / means / process.
34.mit + dative for instruments
mit often names an instrument. A key is not an agent.
35.Three roles together
Agent and instrument can appear in one sentence.
vom Hausmeister— who acts;mit einem Schlüssel— with what the action is done.
36.von, durch and mit at a glance
| Form | Typical function |
|---|---|
von + Dativ | agent |
durch + Akkusativ | cause / means / process |
mit + Dativ | instrument |
An example with all three ideas: the agent is a firm, the cause of the blockage is an accident, the tools of clearance are heavy machines.
37.Institutions as agents
An organisation can also be the agent.
| von der Polizei | von der Schule | von der Firma | von der Versicherung | von der Bank | von der Stadt |
38.Groups as agents
| von einem Team | von den Mitarbeitern | von den Eltern | von den Studenten |
39.Indefinite agent
Sometimes the agent is named but not precisely identified.
40.Position of the von phrase
The phrase usually stands in the middle field — the neutral word order.
41.von phrase in position 1
The agent phrase can stand in position 1; the finite verb stays in position 2. That highlights the agent more strongly.
| Position 1 | Verb 2 | Middle | Partizip II |
|---|---|---|---|
| Von der Firma | wird | das Problem | geprüft. |
42.Neutral A2 word order
For A2 the clearest pattern is usually subject first.
43.Time and agent
Order in the middle field can vary; a particularly clear form is time, then the von phrase.
44.Place and agent
It often sounds more natural to keep the von phrase relatively close to the information about the action.
45.Negation
The position of nicht depends on what is negated. Often it is the agent that is negated.
46.Contrastive negation
The agent can be contrasted with nicht …, sondern ….
47.Asking about the agent
The question about the agent is Von wem …? The answer may be a short phrase or a full sentence.
48.von wem?
The correct question is von wem?, not von wer?, because von requires the dative: wer → wem.
49.Typical questions
50.Was wird von …?
Questions about what the agent does are also possible.
51.Wer? in active, von wem? in passive
The question pair keeps similar information with a different grammatical focus.
52.With modal verbs
The passive can combine with modal verbs. The von + dative phrase does not change the verb construction: modal + … + Partizip II + werden.
53.Perfekt only as a preview
Later forms such as Das Auto ist vom Mechaniker repariert worden. appear. Here the focus stays on Passiv Präsens.
54.In subordinate clauses
In a subordinate clause the finite verb stands at the end; the agent phrase stays normal.
The passive structure can also combine with other A2 connectors.
55.Active is sometimes more natural
Not every sentence needs to become passive. Active is often simpler if the agent is the most important new information. Passive + von is useful when the process stays central but the agent still matters.
56.von + dative and information structure
The passive allows the result or object to become the sentence topic while the agent can still be named.
57.The agent is not always one person
Groups and institutions can also be agents.
58.Animals
If an animal clearly performs the action, von is also possible. For A2 it is enough to link von mainly with acting beings or organisations.
durch einen Hund does not usually express the same neutral agent function: the dog is the agent of beißen.
59.Natural forces
With natural forces durch is often more natural. Useful A2 model: acting person/institution → von; cause/force → durch.
60.Tools are not agents
A screwdriver is a tool, so mit + dative.
61.Machines: agent or means?
Different perspectives are sometimes possible: the machine as an executing unit (von) or emphasis on the technical process (durch).
62.Dative after von stays stable
The case remains dative whether the noun is a person or an organisation.
63.Reviewing the dative forms
| Gender / number | Nominative | after von |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | der Arzt | von dem Arzt / vom Arzt |
| feminine | die Ärztin | von der Ärztin |
| neuter | das Team | von dem Team / vom Team |
| plural | die Mitarbeiter | von den Mitarbeitern |
64.Names and titles
| von Frau Sommer | von Herrn Weber | von Professor Klein | von Anna |
65.von mir vs. durch mich
If a person is an ordinary agent, the neutral standard form is von mir. durch mich creates a different perspective and is not needed for basic A2 agent phrases.
66.Not every von phrase is a passive agent
The whole sentence structure matters. In Das Geschenk ist von meiner Schwester. there is no process passive: von expresses origin.
This grammar focuses on passive + von + dative.
67.Recognising the passive
Typical structure: werden + Partizip II. If von + dative is added, that phrase is very likely the agent.
68.Frequent patterns
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
wird von … gemacht | Das wird von unserem Team gemacht. |
wird von … geschrieben | Der Bericht wird von Anna geschrieben. |
wird von … geprüft | Der Antrag wird von der Behörde geprüft. |
wird von … bezahlt | Die Rechnung wird von der Firma bezahlt. |
wird von … geliefert | Das Paket wird von einem Kurier geliefert. |
wird von … repariert | Das Auto wird vom Mechaniker repariert. |
wird von … organisiert | Die Veranstaltung wird von der Schule organisiert. |
wird von … geleitet | Der Kurs wird von Frau Berger geleitet. |
wird von … hergestellt | Das Produkt wird von einer deutschen Firma hergestellt. |
In careful style a more precise participle is often better (vorbereitet, organisiert, geprüft), but gemacht is very common in everyday language.
69.Omit or name the agent?
The choice depends on the information needed. If only delivery matters, the agent can be left out. If the delivery service matters, the von phrase is useful.
70.A practical decision model
Three questions help:
- Is the sentence in the passive?
- Does the agent need to be named?
- Is it a person, group or organisation as agent?
If yes — von + dative.
71.Second model: agent or cause?
| Question | Form |
|---|---|
| Who performs the action? | von + Dativ |
| What causes the event? | often durch + Akkusativ |
| Which instrument is used? | mit + Dativ |
72.Third model: turn it back into active
From the passive the active can be restored, showing that vom Mechaniker is the agent.
73.Common mistakes
Accusative after von
Incorrect: von den Mechaniker. Correct: von dem Mechaniker / vom Mechaniker.
Wrong feminine article
Incorrect: vom Firma. Correct: von der Firma.
Plural without dative -n
Incorrect: von den Mitarbeiter. Correct: von den Mitarbeitern.
Confusing von and durch
Agent: Das Auto wird vom Mechaniker repariert.. Cause: Der Flug wird durch schlechtes Wetter verzögert..
Using von for an instrument
Unnatural: Die Tür wird vom Schlüssel geöffnet. Better: Die Tür wird mit einem Schlüssel geöffnet..
Breaking the passive form
Incorrect: Das Auto wird vom Mechaniker reparieren. Correct — with Partizip II:
Making the agent a second subject
Incorrect: Das Auto der Mechaniker wird repariert. Correct:
Forgetting the von phrase for a person
If the person needs to be named: not Das Essen wird meine Mutter gekocht., but:
Forming the question incorrectly
Incorrect: Von wer wird der Kurs geleitet? Correct:
74.Minimal triples
Active → passive → passive with agent.
75.Short everyday text
The renovation stays the main topic; agents are named only where useful.