The Passive: Present Tense
Learn the present passive — werden plus the participle — to say what is done rather than who does it, and name the doer with von when it matters.
When the doer does not matter
Compare two sentences about German recycling: Die Deutschen trennen den Müll and Der Müll wird getrennt. The first names the doers; the second drops them entirely and puts the waste itself in the spotlight: the rubbish is separated. That second pattern is the passive, and German — especially official, technical and public German — uses it constantly.
The passive answers the question What happens to it?, not Who does it? Signs, regulations, letters from offices and news reports live on this construction: Das Büro wird um achtzehn Uhr geschlossen. Die Anträge werden innerhalb von vier Wochen bearbeitet.
At A2 you sometimes reached for man to avoid naming a doer: Man trennt den Müll. That remains correct and common in speech. The passive does the same job with more formality — and in written official German it is the standard choice, so at B1 you must read and produce it confidently.
Der Müll wird in Deutschland streng getrennt.
Waste is strictly separated in Germany.
Das Büro wird um achtzehn Uhr geschlossen.
The office is closed at six in the evening.
Man trennt den Müll. — Der Müll wird getrennt.
One separates the waste. — The waste is separated.
man and the passive both hide the doer; the passive is the more formal, written choice.
Forming it: werden plus the participle
The recipe: the present tense of werden in second position, and the Partizip II — the participle you know from the Perfekt — at the end of the clause. Der Brief wird morgen geschickt. Die Formulare werden online ausgefüllt.
werden conjugates as you learned at A2 for the future tense: ich werde, du wirst, er wird, wir werden, ihr werdet, sie werden. That creates a small ambush: werden plus infinitive is the future — er wird anrufen, he will call — while werden plus participle is the passive — er wird angerufen, he is being called. The last word of the clause decides which construction you are reading.
One more shift to watch: the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive one, so the verb agrees with it. Die Firma bearbeitet die Anträge — active, with anträge as object — becomes Die Anträge werden bearbeitet, with the plural subject forcing werden.
Der Brief wird morgen geschickt.
The letter will be sent tomorrow.
Die Anträge werden innerhalb von vier Wochen bearbeitet.
The applications are processed within four weeks.
The plural subject die Anträge forces the plural form werden.
Er wird morgen anrufen. — Er wird morgen angerufen.
He will call tomorrow. — He will be called tomorrow.
Infinitive at the end: future. Participle at the end: passive. The last word decides.
In diesem Kurs wird nur Deutsch gesprochen.
Only German is spoken in this course.
Naming the doer: von
Sometimes the doer still deserves a mention. The passive keeps its focus on the action but adds the agent with von plus the dative: Der Vertrag wird vom Vermieter unterschrieben — the contract is signed by the landlord. Since von always governs the dative, the article changes accordingly: von dem — usually contracted to vom — von der, von den.
Use the von-phrase only when the information earns its place. Die Wohnung wird von der Firma bezahlt tells the tenant something important; die Pakete werden von Paketboten geliefert states the obvious and would normally be shortened to die Pakete werden geliefert.
Word order stays flexible around the frame. Time and place expressions slot in between werden and the participle: Die Miete wird am Anfang des Monats vom Konto abgebucht. The frame itself — werden second, participle last — never bends.
Der Mietvertrag wird vom Vermieter unterschrieben.
The rental contract is signed by the landlord.
von + dative names the doer: von dem Vermieter, contracted to vom Vermieter.
Die Kinder werden von der Lehrerin zum Bus gebracht.
The children are taken to the bus by the teacher.
Die Miete wird am Anfang des Monats vom Konto abgebucht.
The rent is debited from the account at the beginning of the month.
Time and place expressions sit inside the frame, between werden and the participle.
The passive in official life
Letters from German offices are written in the passive almost by default. Ihr Antrag wird zurzeit geprüft — your application is currently being examined. Sie werden schriftlich informiert — you will be informed in writing. Learning to parse these sentences quickly is half the battle of dealing with German bureaucracy, because the passive lets the office describe its procedures without ever saying who exactly does what.
The passive also slips into subordinate clauses, and there the usual rule applies: the conjugated verb goes to the end, after the participle. Wir informieren Sie, sobald Ihr Antrag bearbeitet wird — note the order bearbeitet wird at the end of the sobald-clause from the last lesson.
When you write to an office yourself, a well-placed passive sounds appropriately formal: Ich möchte fragen, wann der Bescheid geschickt wird. Keep man for conversation, and let werden plus participle carry your written official German.
Ihr Antrag wird zurzeit geprüft.
Your application is currently being examined.
Wir informieren Sie, sobald Ihr Antrag bearbeitet wird.
We will inform you as soon as your application is processed.
In the subordinate clause the conjugated verb wird stands at the very end, after the participle.
Ich möchte fragen, wann der Bescheid geschickt wird.
I would like to ask when the notification will be sent.
Altglas wird nach Farben sortiert: Weißglas, Braunglas und Grünglas.
Used glass is sorted by colour: white glass, brown glass and green glass.
Check yourself
Quick checks on this lesson. Get at least three quarters right to mark it as completed.
Which sentence is a correct present passive?
Practise what you learned