Simple past – usage
The passive in the simple past is used in a wide range of contexts, from
everyday situations to historical events:Das Fußballspiel wurde verschoben.
The football match was postponed.Das Penicillin wurde von Alexander Fleming entdeckt.
Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming.1990 wurden Ost- und Westdeutschland wieder vereinigt.
In 1990, East and West Germany were reunited.Present perfect
The passive in the present perfect is constructed with the appropriate
present tense form of sein+past participle of the relevant verb + worden:Ich bin noch nicht untersucht worden.
I haven’t been examined yet.Das Stadion ist zweimal umgebaut worden.
The stadium has been/was rebuilt twice.Note that this present perfect structure is often replaced with the simple
past tense:Das Stadion ist zweimal umgebaut worden.
→Das Stadion wurde zweimal umgebaut.Past perfect
The passive in the past perfect tense is constructed with the simple past
tenseofsein+past participleof the relevant verb + worden. It is normally
used in more formal contexts, such as reports or articles:Er war bereits vor fünf Jahren festgenommen worden.
He had already been arrested five years ago.The passive in the future tense
When forming the passive in the future tense, werdenappears twice as
both the future tense andthe passive use werdenin their formation.166 Unit 22: The passive voice