German grammar · Intermediate (B1)
The passive: wird gemacht, wurde gemacht
How German says what is done without saying who does it: werden + past participle, in the present, the past and with modal verbs.
What is the passive?
In an active sentence, the subject does the action: In a passive sentence, the thing the action is done to becomes the subject: (the bridge is being repaired). The passive is common in the news, in forms and in instructions, where what happens matters more than who does it.
The passive uses + the past participle at the end. Don't confuse it with + infinitive, the future: (is being repaired), (will repair).
- Die Brücke wird ab Montag gesperrt.The bridge will be closed from Monday.
- Hier wird Deutsch gesprochen.German is spoken here.
Present and past
For the present, use the present of : , . For the past, use the Präteritum , . This is the form you'll read most often. The Perfekt passive uses (not ): .
| Person | Present | Past (Präteritum) |
|---|---|---|
| / / | ||
| / |
Saying who does it: von
You usually leave out who does the action. If you want to say it, use + dative:
With modal verbs
With a modal verb, the modal verb is in second position, and the participle + go to the end: (the form has to be signed). (the card can be picked up). In the past, just put the modal verb in the Präteritum: (the battery could be opened).
- Das muss heute noch gemacht werden.That has to be done today.
- Hier darf nicht geparkt werden.Parking is not allowed here.
Sentences without a subject
The passive can even describe an activity with no subject at all: (there was a lot of talking in the workshop). If a plural noun follows at the start, the verb agrees with the noun:
The state: ist geöffnet, and other ways to say “can be done”
+ participle is the action (, the shop is being opened); + participle is the state afterwards (, the shop is open). This is the . You see it on signs: , , .
Instead of … , German often uses + infinitive or an adjective in -bar: = = (that can be repaired).
- Das Geschäft ist sonntags geschlossen.The shop is closed on Sundays.
- 90 Prozent der Metalle lassen sich zurückgewinnen.90 per cent of the metals can be recovered.