The passive

When we talk about something happening, we use either an active or a passive sentence.
The choice of active or passive depends on the point of view.

Active
In the active, the subject does the action.

Passive
In the passive, something is done to the subject.

Forms of the passive

The passive is a form of
be + past participle

In German the passive is a form of werden + past participle.

The rules about when to use the different tenses are the same as in the active.

Simple present
Letters are written.
Briefe werden geschrieben.

Simple past
Letters were written.
Briefe wurden geschrieben.
Briefe sind geschrieben worden.

Present perfect
Letters have been written.
Briefe sind geschrieben worden.

Past Perfect
Letters had been written.
Briefe waren geschrieben worden.

will-future
Letters will be written.
Briefe werden geschrieben (werden).

We form the passive progressive with being

• are being written
• were being written

As in the active, the progressive form expresses the idea of an action in progress.

present progressive
Letters are being written.
Briefe werden (gerade) geschrieben

past progressive
Letters were being written.
Briefe wurden (gerade) geschrieben.

In sentences with a modal auxiliary, be is used in the present infinitive (be) or the perfect infinitive (have been).

modal auxiliary
Letters should be written.
Briefe sollten geschrieben werden.
Letters must have been written.
Briefe müssen geschrieben worden sein.

Be careful!
In German werden is used not only to form the passive, but also the future.

As in German, we use the passive to say what is done or what happens to something or someone.
Who does the action is normally

• unknown or unimportant
• obvious

The passive is often found

• in technical or scientific writing
• in reports of accidents or crimes
• in reports of natural disasters

In such cases the agent (who or what does the action) is not mentioned. This may be, because we can’t, don’t want to or don’t need to identify it.
In this way the passive acquires an impersonal and neutral tone.

Examples:
A cyclist was injured in an accident yesterday.
He was taken to hospital, where he was treated.

On signs or notices and in newspaper headlines, the passive is often used in a shortened form, without be.

Example:
English spoken here. (= English is spoken here.)

The first part of a sentence very often contains information that is already known, or it refers back to information already known.
The new and interesting information, on the other hand, usually comes at the end of the sentence.
This form of information structure is often the reason for using the passive.

Example:
This house is very old. It was built in 1638.

Passive sentences with by

The new information can be the agent (who or what does the action). If we want to, we can add this information after the preposition by

Example:
This house was built by my grandpa.
Dieses Haus wurde von meinem Opa gebaut.

The passive with different kind of verbs

In English we can form the passive with almost all verbs which in the active are followed by an object - either direct or indirect.
The subject of the passive sentence corresponds to the object of the active sentence.

But in German the passive can be formed only with transitive verbs. The passive is therefor used less often in German than in English.

Example:

active
The police questioned everybody (object).
Die Polizei fragte jeden.

passive
Everybody (subject) was questioned.
Jeder wurde befragt.

active
They told me to leave.

passive
I was told to leave.

Unlike their German equivalents, the following English verbs can be used in passive sentences, usually with a person as the subject

• advise sb. (jemandem raten)
• allow sb. (jemandem erlauben)
• answer sb. (jemandem antworten)
• follow sb. (jemandem folgen)
• help sb. (jemandem helfen)
• join sb. (sich jemandem anschließen)
• remeber sb./sth. (sich an etwas erinnern)
• thank sb. (jemandem danken)

Example:
People advised me to go to art school. (active)
I was advised to go to art school. (passive)

Verbs with two objects

In the active, verbs like give, offer, promise, show and tell are usually followed by two objects

• indirect object
• direct object

When a verb has two objects, the indirect object of the active sentence usually becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
This structure is not used in German.

Example:
The teacher gave Tim an apple.
Tim was given an apple by the teacher.

The direct object of the active sentence can also become the subject of the passive sentence. Whether we choose a person or a thing as the subject of the passive sentence depends on the context and the information structure.

Prepositional verbs and fixed phrases

We can form the passive of many verb + preposition combinations.

• break into
• look after
• talk about
• think of
  etc.
  As in an active sentence, the preposition comes right after the verb.

Example:
Someone has broken into my house.
My house has been broken into.
In mein Haus ist eingebrochen worden.

There are also fixed phrases consisting of a verb + noun + preposition.

• make fun of
• pay attention to
• take care of
  etc.

Example:
They made fun of Sarah’s accent.
Sarah’s accent was made fun of.

Verbs of speaking and thinking

With verbs of speaking and thinking (believe, consider, expect, know, report, say, suppose, think), there are two different passive structures in English

• it as subject
  it + passive verb + that-clause
• a person as subject
  subject + passive verb + to-infinitive

Example:

Active
People say that the President is ill.

Passive
It is said that the President is ill.
The President is said to be ill.

The passive infinitive

The passive infinitive can be present or perfect.

Example:
I want to be left alone.
Ich will in Ruhe gelassen werden.

The passive gerund

The passive gerund can be present or perfect.

Example:
I don’t like being called a geek.

The passive participle

The passive participle can be present or perfect.

Example:
Have you ever watched an operation being done?