German Passive Voice (Passiv): Focus on the Action for Professional Communication

The Passive Voice: Focusing on the “What,” not the “Who”

In your daily life in Germany, you will often encounter sentences where the person doing the action is either unknown or unimportant. For example: “The bill is being paid,” “The car is being repaired,” or “The door is being closed.” This is the Passiv (Passive Voice).

For an expat, the Passive Voice is the language of bureaucracy and services. You need it to understand what is happening to your applications, your packages, or your repairs. In B1, we focus on the Präsens Passiv (Present Passive).

1. The Formula: Werden + Partizip II

To build a passive sentence in the present tense, you need two components:

1. The auxiliary verb Werden (to become), conjugated in Position 2.
2. The Partizip II (the past participle) of the main action, placed at the very end.

2. Conjugation of “Werden”

Since Werden is the engine of the passive voice, you must know its conjugation perfectly:

3. Active vs. Passive: The Transformation

Watch how the direct object (Akkusativ) of the active sentence becomes the Subject (Nominativ) of the passive sentence.

• Active: Der Mechaniker repariert das Auto.
  (The mechanic repairs the car).
• Passive: Das Auto wird repariert.
  (The car is being repaired).

4. Adding the “By” (Von + Dativ)

If you still want to mention who is doing the action, use the preposition Von followed by the Dativ case.

• “Die E-Mail wird von meinem Chef geschrieben.”
  (The email is being written by my boss).
• “Das Paket wird von der Post geliefert.”
  (The package is being delivered by the post).

5. Practical Expat Contexts

A. At the Doctor / Hospital:
“Sie werden morgen operiert.” (You are being operated on tomorrow).

B. In the Office:
“Die Dokumente werden heute kopiert.” (The documents are being copied today).

C. Formal Announcements:
“Der Bahnhof wird renoviert.” (The station is being renovated).

6. Practice Exercises

A. Turn these active sentences into Passive:

1. Der Koch bereitet das Essen vor. -> Das Essen ________ ________.
2. Die Frau bezahlt die Rechnung. -> Die Rechnung ________ ________.
3. Wir bauen ein Haus. -> Ein Haus ________ ________.

B. Translate to German (Passive):

1. The door is being opened.
2. English is spoken here. (Hier… sprechen).
3. The children are being picked up (abholen).

Lesson Summary Checklist

[ ] I understand that Passive focuses on the action, not the person.
[ ] I can conjugate Werden correctly.
[ ] I know that the Partizip II always goes at the very end.
[ ] I can use “Von + Dativ” to say who is performing the action.