The Vorgangspassiv (process passive)
In active voice the SUBJECT does the action: Der Mann öffnet die Tür. = The man opens the door. In passive voice the focus shifts to what happens to the OBJECT: Die Tür wird geöffnet. = The door is being opened. The German recipe is werden (conjugated for the subject) + the Partizip II at the END of the clause. The agent — the person who does it — often disappears entirely, or returns with von (a person) or durch (a means/cause).
The basic recipe: werden + Partizip II
Take an active sentence with a direct object. The accusative object becomes the new SUBJECT (nominative). The verb becomes werden + the past participle. The original subject either drops out or comes back with von + dative. Der Mann öffnet die Tür. → Die Tür wird (vom Mann) geöffnet. The conjugated wird is in V2 position; the participle geöffnet sits at the very end. Compare with English: 'The door is being opened (by the man).' German uses werden where English uses 'to be' — this is the trap to memorize.
werden, NOT sein
English 'is opened' looks like ist geöffnet, but ist geöffnet in German describes a STATE — the door is in the open position. Wird geöffnet describes the PROCESS — the door is being opened right now. This split is called Vorgangspassiv (werden, the process) vs. Zustandspassiv (sein, the resulting state). For now, drill the process passive with werden. Das Fenster wird geschlossen. = The window is being closed. Das Fenster ist geschlossen. = The window is (already) closed.
Tense forms of the passive
Conjugate werden for whichever tense you need; the participle never changes. Präsens: Die Tür wird geöffnet. = The door is (being) opened. Präteritum: Die Tür wurde geöffnet. = The door was opened. Perfekt: Die Tür ist geöffnet worden. = The door has been opened. (Note: in passive Perfekt, the past participle of werden is worden, not geworden.) Plusquamperfekt: Die Tür war geöffnet worden. = The door had been opened. Futur: Die Tür wird geöffnet werden. = The door will be opened.
von vs. durch — bringing the agent back
If you want to mention WHO did it, use von + dative for a person or institution: Das Buch wird von Anna gelesen. = The book is being read by Anna. Das Gesetz wurde vom Bundestag verabschiedet. = The law was passed by parliament. Use durch + accusative for a means, cause, or instrument: Die Stadt wurde durch das Feuer zerstört. = The city was destroyed by the fire. Das Problem wurde durch eine Reform gelöst. = The problem was solved through a reform. Rule of thumb: von = animate doer, durch = inanimate cause.
Passive with modal verbs
When a modal joins in, the modal takes V2, and the structure at the end is Partizip II + werden (infinitive). Die Tür muss geöffnet werden. = The door must be opened. Das Buch kann gelesen werden. = The book can be read. Der Brief sollte heute geschrieben werden. = The letter should be written today. The infinitive werden lands at the very end.
Passive without an object — the impersonal es
Some German verbs only take a dative or no object at all (helfen, danken, tanzen, arbeiten). They still form a passive — but there's no nominative subject, so German uses a placeholder es or starts the sentence with an adverb. Hier wird viel gearbeitet. = There's a lot of work going on here. Es wird getanzt. = There's dancing. Mir wird geholfen. = I am being helped. (The dative pronoun mir stays dative — it never becomes the subject.)
When to use the passive
Use passive when (1) you don't know who did it, (2) you don't care who did it, or (3) you want to emphasize what happened, not who did it. News and instructions love the passive: Der Verdächtige wurde festgenommen. = The suspect was arrested. Die Suppe wird langsam gekocht. = The soup is cooked slowly. In casual speech German often prefers the active man-construction (Man kocht die Suppe langsam.) — both are correct, but written and formal German leans heavily on the passive.
