Passive
das Passiv
The German passive is the structure where the subject undergoes the action instead of doing it: werden + Partizip II.
“Das Buch wird gelesen” — who is reading? Nobody says. English does this too (“mistakes were made”); German turns it into a fully worked-out system.
The doer disappears, the object steps forward
If you cannot form the Partizip II, you cannot form the passive: it is built on top of that word.
ShortcutThe Akkusativ object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive. The verb turns into werden + Partizip II. The person doing it either vanishes or comes back with von.
| Voice | Sentence | English |
|---|---|---|
| Active | Der Mechaniker repariert das Auto. | The mechanic is repairing the car. |
| Passive | Das Auto wird repariert. | The car is being repaired. |
| Passive + doer | Das Auto wird vom Mechaniker repariert. | The car is being repaired by the mechanic. |
Note: das Auto was the object in the active sentence and became the subject in the passive. That is why a verb needs an Akkusativ object to be turned into a passive — verbs without one (schlafen · gehen · bleiben) cannot form a normal passive.
- wird … + Partizip II is being done PRÄSENS PASSIV
- wurde … + Partizip II was done PRÄTERITUM PASSIV
- ist … worden was done (spoken) PERFEKT — NOT GEWORDEN!
You already do this in English
English builds the passive with be + past participle, and you do it without thinking: written · opened · being made · said. The difference: English has one little word for the doer, by. German has two, and the choice is not optional.
| English | German | Extra info |
|---|---|---|
| The letter was written. | Der Brief wurde geschrieben. | no doer |
| The letter was written by the boss. | Der Brief wurde vom Chef geschrieben. | von + Dativ = a person |
| The house was destroyed by the storm. | Das Haus wurde durch den Sturm zerstört. | durch + Akkusativ = cause / means |
English “by” hides this split, so it gets skipped: if a conscious doer is involved, use von; if it is a cause or a means, use durch. With natural events both are correct: vom Sturm or durch den Sturm zerstört. It gets tested directly in exams.
von takes the Dativ and durch takes the Akkusativ — both are laid out on the prepositions page.
Tenses: one table, six rows
The only thing that changes in the passive is the verb werden. The Partizip II never moves — it stays at the end, in the same form.
| Tense | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Präsens | wird + P II | Das Auto wird repariert. |
| Präteritum | wurde + P II | Das Auto wurde repariert. |
| Perfekt | ist + P II + worden | Das Auto ist repariert worden. |
| Plusquamperfekt | war + P II + worden | Das Auto war repariert worden. |
| With a modal | muss + P II + werden | Das Auto muss repariert werden. |
| Futur I | wird + P II + werden | Das Auto wird repariert werden. |
The three you will use most: Präsens · Präteritum · with a modal. In formal letters the pattern you will meet is almost always muss … werden or kann … werden.
geworden or worden?
The single most important line on this page. The Partizip II of werden is normally geworden — but in a passive sentence it shrinks to worden and the ge- drops off.
Das Auto ist repariert geworden.
In the passive, ge- drops off.
Das Auto ist repariert worden.
The car has been repaired.
Er ist Arzt geworden.
He became a doctor. — this is not a passive, so geworden is right.
How to tell them apart: if the sentence has a second Partizip II (repariert) → worden. If not, werden means “to become” → geworden.
State passive: the difference between wird and ist
German separates two kinds of passive, and English blurs the difference (“the door is opened” can mean either) — so learners mix them up all the time.
| Type | Pattern | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Vorgangspassiv action passive | wird + P II | Die Tür wird geöffnet. — The door is being opened. Someone is opening it right now. |
| Zustandspassiv state passive | ist + P II | Die Tür ist geöffnet. — The door is open. The action is finished, the result remains. |
A shortcut: do you see movement or a state? Movement → wird. State → ist. Think “is being opened” versus “is open”.
Das Geschäft wird um 8 Uhr geöffnet.
The shop opens at 8. — the act of opening, at that moment.
Das Geschäft ist ab 8 Uhr geöffnet.
The shop is open from 8. — a state.
A Dativ object never becomes the subject
Only the Akkusativ object moves up in the passive. With Dativ verbs like helfen · danken · gratulieren the object stays in the Dativ and does not become the subject.
Ich werde geholfen.
helfen takes no Akkusativ — this cannot be built.
Mir wird geholfen.
I’m being helped.
Dem Chef wurde gratuliert.
The boss was congratulated.
Which verbs take the Dativ is laid out in a table on the Dativ verbs page. That list is the key to this trap.
What nobody tells you: escaping with man, and the subjectless passive
Textbooks teach the passive but do not tell you what Germans use instead. In everyday speech, man often takes its place — like English “you” or “they” (“they speak German here”) — and it is your ready-made escape route when you cannot build the sentence.
| Passive | With man | Where to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Hier wird Deutsch gesprochen. | Hier spricht man Deutsch. | both are correct — the second is more chatty |
| Das darf nicht gemacht werden. | Das darf man nicht machen. | in speech, the second |
It does not work the other way round: man sounds weak in formal writing. Applications, emails, exam texts → passive. Chatting → man.
The second thing nobody says: German can build a passive with no subject at all. English has no equivalent, and the first time you hear it the sentence sounds broken:
Es wird getanzt.
There is dancing. — who is dancing is never said.
Heute wird gearbeitet.
Work is going on today. — es dropped out because the first slot is already filled.
The es here is not a real subject, just a filler that occupies the first slot. It drops out as soon as something else moves to the front. You will see this structure constantly on signs and workplace notices.
What you just learned
The passive is formed with the auxiliary _____ and the Partizip II of the main verb.
Show the answer
werden — Forming the passive (Vorgangspassiv): werden + Partizip II
Das Haus ist letztes Jahr gebaut ___.
Show the answer
worden. In a passive sentence the Partizip II of werden loses its ge-. geworden is used only for “to become”: Er ist Arzt geworden.
Der Brief wurde ___ Chef geschrieben.
Show the answer
vom (= von dem). When the doer is a conscious person, use von + Dativ. durch + Akkusativ is for causes and means: durch den Sturm.
What to do this week
This topic sticks by converting sentences. Five minutes a day:
- Write an active sentence: Der Mechaniker repariert das Auto.
- Find the Akkusativ object (das Auto) and move it to the front.
- Change the verb: Das Auto wird repariert.
- Build the same sentence in three tenses: wurde repariert · ist repariert worden · muss repariert werden.
- Then write it with man and compare the two — which one sounds more formal?
Next up is Konjunktiv II: talking about things that are not real, and softening your voice when you ask for something.
Build the sentence yourself
Tap the words and put them in order. This is the hardest part of German — and there are no options to pick from, you build it.
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tap the words
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tap the words
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tap the words
Know this before the test
The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.
- werden + Partizip II
The passive is built with werden, not sein. werden is the verb that gets conjugated; the participle stays frozen at the end.
Das Auto wird repariert.
- Tenses run through werden
Present is wird, past is wurde, and the Perfekt is ist … worden. In the Perfekt you use worden, not geworden.
wird gebaut · wurde gebaut · ist gebaut worden
- The object becomes the subject, the doer drops out
The Akkusativ object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive. The doer does not have to be named; man disappears completely in the passive.
Man repariert das Auto. → Das Auto wird repariert.
- von for a person, durch for a cause
If you do name the doer: a person or institution takes von + Dativ, a cause or means takes durch + Akkusativ. With natural events von works too: vom Sturm zerstört.
vom Chef geschrieben · durch das Hochwasser zerstört
Das Haus ist letztes Jahr gebaut geworden.
Das Haus ist letztes Jahr gebaut worden.
In the Perfekt passive, the participle of werden is worden. geworden belongs to the verb meaning “to become”.
Das Fenster wird seit gestern geöffnet.
Das Fenster ist seit gestern geöffnet.
werden describes an ongoing process. When there is a state rather than a process, you use sein.
Das Auto wird von man repariert.
Das Auto wird repariert.
man is not carried into the passive, it is dropped. There is no such thing as von man.
Die Straße wurde von das Hochwasser zerstört.
Die Straße wurde vom Hochwasser zerstört.
von always takes the Dativ: von dem → vom. With the Akkusativ das Hochwasser only durch works: durch das Hochwasser. With natural events both are correct.
Test yourself
Tap an answer — we will look at why together.
Das Auto repariert. (right now)
Das Haus ist letztes Jahr gebaut .
The house was built last year.
Der Brief wurde Chef geschrieben.
der Chef = the boss
Which one means “I’m being helped”?
Das Fenster seit gestern geöffnet — niemand schließt es.
The window has been open since yesterday — nobody is closing it.
Which one is correct?
Practice done — –
To finish the topic, take the full test: score 60% and it is marked as done on your level path.
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Passive worksheet
This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.
Related topics
Perfekt
haben or sein?
The spoken past: choosing haben or sein, and building Partizip II.
Dativ verbs
helfen · gefallen · gehören · geben
Dativ verbs are German verbs whose object goes in the dative case: helfen, gefallen, gehören, geben.
Prepositions and cases
für dich, mit dir
German prepositions are small words that come before a noun, link it to the sentence and decide its case: für dich, mit dir.
The preposition von
vom Arzt · von mir
von is a preposition that always takes the Dativ: von mir, vom Arzt, von Montag bis Freitag.
The preposition durch
durch den Park
durch is a German preposition that always takes the accusative: durch den Park, durch Zufall.