Passiv Präsens: werden + Partizip II

1.Active and passive: the basic difference

Passiv Präsens describes what happens to a person or thing. The person who performs the action is often unimportant, unknown or already clear from context. This form is often called Vorgangspassiv because the process or action stands in the centre.

In the active, the actor is often central. In the passive, the action or process matters more; the actor can be left unnamed.

2.The main passive formula

For Passiv Präsens: werden + Partizip II. The auxiliary werden is conjugated; Partizip II does not change.

3.werden in the present

In the passive, wird and werden are especially common because the subject is often a thing or a process.

4.Singular and plural

Singular takes wird; plural takes werden.

5.Partizip II stands at the end

In a simple main clause the pattern is: subject + werden + … + Partizip II.

6.The passive forms a verbal frame

The two verb parts form a frame: wird … repariert. Other elements can stand between them.

7.What happens to the accusative object?

In many active sentences the accusative object becomes the passive subject and stands in the nominative.

In the active: der Mechaniker is the subject, das Auto the accusative object. In the passive das Auto is nominative.

8.A simple transformation scheme

From Jemand öffnet die Tür. comes Die Tür wird geöffnet.. Steps:

1. die Tür → new subject;
2. öffnen → geöffnet;
3. conjugate werden to the new subject.

Another example: Die Firma baut neue Wohnungen. → Neue Wohnungen werden gebaut.. Wohnungen is plural, so werden.

9.Why the passive is useful

The passive is especially useful when the action itself matters and the actor is unknown, unimportant or already clear.

Exactly who carries out the repair is often irrelevant here.

10.Passive in everyday and official language

Typical contexts include repairs, meetings, orders, construction, rules, production, services and official processes.

11.Passive with repairs

12.Passive with meetings and organisation

13.Passive with orders and delivery

14.Passive in production

15.Passive in rules and processes

16.Partizip II: regular verbs

17.Partizip II: irregular verbs

18.Verbs in -ieren

These use the familiar Partizip II without ge-.

19.Separable verbs

The prefix stays in its usual place inside Partizip II.

20.Do not forget Partizip II

Passiv Präsens needs werden + Partizip II, not the infinitive.

Incorrect: Die Tür wird öffnen. Correct:

21.werden must agree with the subject

Partizip II does not change. Only werden changes.

22.A time expression at the beginning

Finite wird stays in position 2.

23.Other elements at the beginning

The verbal frame remains when place, time or another phrase stands in position 1.

24.Yes/no questions

In a question without a question word, werden comes first.

25.Wh-questions

The question word comes first, werden second, Partizip II at the end.

26.was as a question word

Very useful patterns with was:

27.Negation with nicht

nicht stands before the part that is negated.

28.Negation with kein

When a noun is negated, the form of kein agrees with the new subject.

29.Passive with time expressions

Common time expressions include heute, morgen, jeden Tag, am Montag, im Sommer.

30.Passive with place expressions

31.Passive with a dative object

A dative object stays dative.

32.Accusative becomes nominative, dative stays dative

Useful scheme: in the active — subject + verb + dative + accusative; in the passive accusative → nominative, and dative stays dative.

33.Pronouns in the passive

An accusative pronoun becomes nominative: mich → ich, uns → wir.

34.Passive and active with man

Active sentences with man often turn very naturally into the passive. man disappears because the actor is general and unimportant.

35.Why man is useful for comparison

man roughly means “someone / people / usually”. The passive often has a similar function but focuses more strongly on the process.

36.Passive with a modal verb: the basic model

A very common A2 pattern: modal verb + Partizip II + werden. At the end stands gemacht werden, not werden gemacht.

37.müssen in the passive

38.können in the passive

39.sollen in the passive

This pattern often appears in tasks, plans and expectations.

40.Word order with a modal verb

In a main clause the end is geschlossen werden. Incorrect: Die Tür muss werden geschlossen.

41.Passive in a subordinate clause

After weil, dass, wenn and other conjunctions the finite verb stands at the end.

42.Passive in a weil clause

Compare the main clause Das Auto wird repariert. and the subordinate weil das Auto repariert wird.

43.Passive in a dass clause

Structure: dass + … + Partizip II + wird.

44.Process passive and state

Die Tür wird geöffnet. means a process is happening. Die Tür ist geöffnet. rather describes a state: the door is open.

45.werden and sein

Die Tür wird geschlossen — it is being closed / a process is underway. Die Tür ist geschlossen — a state: it is not open. This page is about the process passive with werden.

46.Not every werden is passive

werden has other functions too. In Ich werde müde. it means “become”; that is not the passive. A frequent passive signal is werden + Partizip II.

47.werden in the future — another construction

Ich werde morgen arbeiten. is Futur I: werden + infinitive. Das Auto wird morgen repariert. is passive: werden + Partizip II.

48.Who performs the action? — often unimportant

In the passive the actor can be left out entirely. Die Straße wird repariert. is a complete sentence; it is not necessary to answer “by whom?”.

49.A first look at von + dative

The phrase von + dative adds the actor; the passive core stays wird repariert.

50.Which verbs are useful for learning the passive?

For a first understanding, verbs with an accusative object are especially clear: they show the shift accusative object → passive subject well.

51.Not all verbs work the same way

Many verbs without an accusative object do not form the same simple personal passive with a new subject. For example, Ich schlafe. cannot simply be turned into an ordinary personal passive of the same type. For A2 a safe central model is to start from active sentences that have a clear accusative object.

52.Common mistakes

sein instead of werden

Incorrect for a process: Das Auto ist repariert. Correct:

Infinitive instead of Partizip II

Incorrect: Die Tür wird öffnen. Correct:

Wrong form of werden

Incorrect: Die Türen wird geöffnet. Correct:

Changing Partizip II

Incorrect: Die Tür wird geöffnete. Correct — Partizip II is not declined:

Turning dative into nominative

In Der Vertrag wird dem Kunden erklärt., dem Kunden stays dative.

53.A useful transformation method

Active: Der Techniker repariert den Computer.

1. Find the accusative object: den Computer.
2. Put it into the nominative: der Computer.
3. Conjugate werden: der Computer wird.
4. Form Partizip II: reparieren → repariert.

Result:

54.Transformation in the plural

From Die Firma verkauft die Geräte. the accusative object die Geräte becomes the new plural subject, so the form werden is needed.

55.How to analyse while reading

Example: Die neuen Wohnungen werden im nächsten Jahr gebaut.

• Die neuen Wohnungen — passive subject;
• werden — finite auxiliary;
• gebaut — Partizip II.

Question “What happens to the flats?” → Sie werden gebaut.

56.A quick check

If a sentence has a form of werden, a Partizip II, and describes what is done to a thing or person, it is very likely a process passive.

57.Choosing between active and passive

Active is useful when the actor matters. Passive is useful when the process matters. Neither form is always “better”: the information focus changes.