Genau
Topic test · B1

Passive test

13questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
Start the test Read the topic first

One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

13 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

Das Auto repariert. (right now)

wird. Präsens Passiv = werden + Partizip II. ist repariert is also a correct sentence, but it means “is in a repaired state” — a state, not an action.

Das Haus ist letztes Jahr gebaut .

The house was built last year.

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.

der Chef = the boss

vom (= von dem). When the doer is a conscious person, use von + Dativ. durch + Akkusativ is for causes and means: durch den Sturm.

Which one means “I’m being helped”?

Mir wird geholfen. helfen takes the Dativ, not the Akkusativ — so the object cannot become the subject in the passive. It stays in the Dativ and the verb is conjugated in the singular.

Das Fenster seit gestern geöffnet — niemand schließt es.

The window has been open since yesterday — nobody is closing it.

ist. There is no ongoing action here, just a state (Zustandspassiv: sein + Partizip II). wird would mean “is being opened right now”.

Which one is correct?

Heute wird gearbeitet. In a subjectless passive, es only exists to fill the first slot; once heute moves to the front, it drops out. man and the passive are never used together.

Das Formular muss heute werden.

The form has to be filled in today.

Modal + passive pattern: Partizip II + werden. The modal is conjugated, and the two parts at the end stay fixed — ausgefüllt werden.

Das Haus 1990 gebaut.

The house was built in 1990.

A finished event in the past: the Präteritum of the passive is wurde. wird is present, and worden cannot stand on its own — it needs ist … worden.

Die Straße wurde das Hochwasser zerstört.

das Hochwasser = the flood

durch. After the gap, das Hochwasser is in the Akkusativ, and only durch (cause/means) takes it here. von and mit need the Dativ — vom Hochwasser would also be correct, but von das is not.

Man repariert das Auto. — which one is the passive version?

The Akkusativ object of the active sentence (das Auto) becomes the subject of the passive. man drops out completely; there is no such thing as von man. ist repariert describes the result, not the process.

In passive sentences, the main verb always goes to the end as an infinitive (Infinitiv).

In passive sentences the main verb sits at the end as a Partizip II (the third form), not as an infinitive.

The passive is formed with the auxiliary and the Partizip II of the main verb.

Forming the passive (Vorgangspassiv): werden + Partizip II

Build the sentence: The car is being repaired.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

Das Auto wird repariert. The passive is built with werden and the Partizip II. Who does the action does not matter.
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. 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.

  4. 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

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • 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.