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German grammar · A2

German Passive Voice: How Werden Builds It

The passive shifts attention from who does something to what is done. German builds it with werden plus a past participle — not with sein, which is the mistake English speakers make because is repaired looks like ist repariert.

Werden, not sein

Das Auto wird repariert. The car is being repaired. Werden takes second position and the participle goes to the end — the same bracket shape as the perfect tense and modal verbs.

Das Auto ist repariert is a different statement. That is the Zustandspassiv, describing a finished state: the car is repaired, the work is done. German distinguishes the process from the result, and English uses the same words for both.

Naming the agent, and using modals

Often the passive exists precisely so the agent can be left out. When you do want to name it, use von plus the dative for a person and durch plus the accusative for a means or cause: Das Formular wird von dem Arzt unterschrieben.

With a modal verb, the modal takes second position and the passive collapses into participle + werden at the end: Das Formular muss heute unterschrieben werden. Two verbs stacked at the end looks odd at first and is completely standard.

The passive with no subject at all

German can build a passive around an activity with nobody named and nothing acted on. It is called the impersonal passive, and it is everywhere on signs and in rules.

Hier wird nicht geraucht. Literally: here it is not smoked — meaning no smoking here. Sonntags wird nicht gearbeitet. There is no subject; es appears only when the sentence would otherwise start with the verb: Es wird viel geredet.

This construction has no English equivalent, so it cannot be translated word for word. Recognising it matters more than producing it, because it is how prohibitions are worded in the notices you read.

Examples

• Das Fenster wird vom Hausmeister repariert.The window is being repaired by the caretaker.
• Die E-Mails werden täglich gelesen.The emails are read daily.

Mistakes to avoid

The errors are building the passive with sein instead of werden, and reversing the order of the two verbs at the end of a modal passive.

• ✗ Das Auto wird von der Mechaniker repariert.✓ Das Auto wird vom Mechaniker repariert.
• ✗ Die Fenster werden putzen.✓ Die Fenster werden geputzt.
• ✗ Das Buch ist von vielen Leuten gelesen.✓ Das Buch wird von vielen Leuten gelesen.
• ✗ Der Brief muss werden geschrieben.✓ Der Brief muss geschrieben werden.
• ✗ Er wird von ein Hund gebissen.✓ Er wird von einem Hund gebissen.

How this is tested in the exam

The passive is the register of official German, so it dominates the texts you read rather than the ones you write. In Lesen at B1, rules, instructions and notices are written this way, and misreading a passive as an active reverses who is meant to do something. In Schreiben a formal email is a natural place to use one deliberately.

Frequently asked questions

How do you form the passive in German?

With werden plus the past participle: Das Auto wird repariert. Werden takes second position and the participle goes to the end.

Why is the German passive not formed with sein?

Sein plus a participle describes a finished state rather than an ongoing process. Das Auto wird repariert means it is being repaired; das Auto ist repariert means the work is complete.

How do you say by someone in a German passive sentence?

Von plus the dative for a person, durch plus the accusative for a means or cause: von dem Arzt, durch den Sturm.

How does the passive work with a modal verb?

The modal takes second position and the end of the sentence holds the participle followed by werden: Das Formular muss unterschrieben werden.