UNIT TWENTY-TWO
Unit 22 The passive voice
Differences between active and passive
The passive, also called the passive voice, stands in contrast to the active
(voice):- A sentence in the activestresses who or what is the ‘doer’ of the action:
Der Gärtnergießt die Blumen.
The gardeneris watering the flowers. - The focus of a sentence in the passiveis on the action, not the ‘doer’:
Die Blumen werden vom Gärtner gegossen.
The flowers are being wateredby the gardener.
Formation – an overview
Most passive constructions in German consist of the appropriate form of
werden+past participleof the relevant verb:Der Bundestag wirdalle vier Jahre gewählt.
The German Parliament is elected every four years.Der Oscar wurdevon Martin Scorsese gewonnen.
The Oscar was won by Martin Scorcese.The formation, usage and the different tenses of the passive will be
explained in the following sections.