Active and passive voice in German
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If a subject of a sentence acts upon an object, the sentence is written in the "normal" active form. The activity of the subject is expressed by the active form. Example: Sie kauft das Buch. - She buys the book.
An alternative to this sentence structure is the passive voice. The subject (in this case "das Buch") of the sentence receives an action. Example: Das Buch wird von ihr gekauft. - The book is bought by her.
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There are two different passive voices in the German language. The first one is built of werden + past participle. The second one is built of sein + past participle.
The processual passive is used to set the action itself priority. By whom the action was caused is unknown and not important. The passive voice can be formed for all tenses in the German language. But only werden changes according to the personal pronouns to form the tenses. The past participle remains the same.
tense | example |
---|---|
present | Das Buch wird gekauft. |
present perfect | Das Buch ist gekauft worden. |
simple past | Das Buch wurde gekauft. |
past perfect | Das Buch war gekauft worden. |
future | Das Buch wird gekauft werden. |
future perfect | Das Buch wird gekauft worden sein. |
The stative passive describes the condition after an action.
tense | example |
---|---|
present | Das Buch ist gekauft. |
present perfect | Das Buch ist gekauft gewesen. |
simple past | Das Buch war gekauft. |
past perfect | Das Buch war gekauft gewesen. |
future | Das Buch wird gekauft sein. |
future perfect | Das Buch wird gekauft gewesen sein. |
active | translation | passive | translation |
---|---|---|---|
Ich trinke Wasser. | I'm drinking water | Das Wasser wird von mir getrunken. | The water is being drunk by me |
Ich hob den Stuhl. | I picked up the chair | Der Stuhl wurde von mir gehoben. | The chair was picked up by me |
Er hat das Essen gekocht. | He cooked the food | Das Essen ist von ihm gekocht gewesen. | The food was cooked by him |
Er hatte das Essen gekocht. | He has cooked the food | Das Essen war von ihm gekocht worden. | The food has been cooked by him |
Ich werde den Stuhl heben. | I will pick up the chair | Der Stuhl wird von mir gehoben werden. | The chair will be picked up by me |
Ich werde den Stuhl gehoben haben. | I will have picked up the chair | Der Stuhl wird von mir gehoben worden sein. | The will have been picked up by me |
You have learned about the two different passive forms and when to use them. Apply your theoretical knowledge in our exercises of the passive voice.
The first sentence is an example.
simple past:
Der Saft wurde ausgetrunken. (werden, austrinken)
Die Zelte . (werden, aufbauen)
Ich , ob ich einen Bruder habe. (werden, fragen)
Der Fernseher schon lange nicht mehr . (werden, benutzen)
Das Auto von mir . (werden, einparken)
Die Zeitung heute noch nicht . (werden, bringen)
simple present tense:
Ich im Büro . (werden, brauchen)
Mir meine Spitzen . (werden, färben)
Er , ob er eine Schwester hat. (werden, fragen)
Die Straße wenig . (werden, befahren)
Das Kleid noch . (werden, nähen)
Ich laufe heute Abend in die Stadt.
active
stative passive
processual passive
Er wurde von einer Biene gestochen.
active
stative passive
processual passvie
Der Tisch ist gesäubert.
active
stative passive
processual passive
Er wurden gefragt.
active
stative passive
processual passive
Laura und Martin unterhalten sich über die Schule.
processual passive
active
stative passive
Sie lächeln den ganzen Tag.
processual passive
stative passive
active
Die Milch wurde getrunken.
processual passive
active
stative passive
Er hat das Armband hergestellt.
stative passive
active
processual passive
Sie ist verletzt.
stative passive
processual passive
active
Die Tür ist geschlossen.
active
stative passive
processual passive
Ich laufe heute Abend in die Stadt.
active
Er wurde von einer Biene gestochen.
processual passvie
Der Tisch ist gesäubert.
stative passive
Er wurden gefragt.
processual passive
Laura und Martin unterhalten sich über die Schule.
active
Sie lächeln den ganzen Tag.
active
Die Milch wurde getrunken.
processual passive
Er hat das Armband hergestellt.
active
Sie ist verletzt.
stative passive
Die Tür ist geschlossen.
stative passive
The first sentence is an example.
simple past:
Der Saft wurde ausgetrunken. (werden, austrinken)
Die Zelte . (werden, aufbauen)
Ich , ob ich einen Bruder habe. (werden, fragen)
Der Fernseher schon lange nicht mehr . (werden, benutzen)
Das Auto von mir . (werden, einparken)
Die Zeitung heute noch nicht . (werden, bringen)
simple present tense:
Ich im Büro . (werden, brauchen)
Mir meine Spitzen . (werden, färben)
Er , ob er eine Schwester hat. (werden, fragen)
Die Straße wenig . (werden, befahren)
Das Kleid noch . (werden, nähen)
Ich laufe heute Abend in die Stadt.
stative passive
active
processual passive
Er wurde von einer Biene gestochen.
processual passvie
active
stative passive
Der Tisch ist gesäubert.
stative passive
active
processual passive
Er wurden gefragt.
processual passive
stative passive
active
Laura und Martin unterhalten sich über die Schule.
stative passive
processual passive
active
Sie lächeln den ganzen Tag.
active
stative passive
processual passive
Die Milch wurde getrunken.
active
stative passive
processual passive
Er hat das Armband hergestellt.
active
stative passive
processual passive
Sie ist verletzt.
active
stative passive
processual passive
Die Tür ist geschlossen.
active
stative passive
processual passive
Ich laufe heute Abend in die Stadt.
active
Er wurde von einer Biene gestochen.
processual passvie
Der Tisch ist gesäubert.
stative passive
Er wurden gefragt.
processual passive
Laura und Martin unterhalten sich über die Schule.
active
Sie lächeln den ganzen Tag.
active
Die Milch wurde getrunken.
processual passive
Er hat das Armband hergestellt.
active
Sie ist verletzt.
stative passive
Die Tür ist geschlossen.
stative passive
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Hallo :) I'm a German language teacher with a Bachelor and Master degree in German and with many years of teaching experience.
I was born and lived in Switzerland for many years and grew up in a bilingual family, because of that I speak German, Swiss German, Croatian and English :)
- ABOUT THE CLASS -
I offer German language lessons for A1, A2, B1, B2 level and they include everything you need: grammar, speaking, listening audio, reading, writing and for some fun: games and role plays :)
This is ideal for students who want actively participate and speak more, learn new words and exercise the grammar.
All learning materials and exercises are included and will be provided during the lesson.
The learning material is from various books: Schritte International, Menschen, Sicher im Alltag und Beruf, Begegnungen, ....
If you wish to have only conversational lessons, I can arrange this also for you (only available for B1 and B2 level).
* IMPORTANT: coLanguage shows only my general availability, if you want to book a lesson, please sent me a message with your availability and language level, and I will contact you as soon as possible with more informations :)
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she is very flexible about rescheduling the classes. she gives a lot of exercises that fit my level and make sure to correct me if I miss pronouncing some words or have difficulty to read them.
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Bianka is friendly and very patient. She is from Germany so I can learn the German pronunciations very well with her. I recommend Bianka if you are looking for a German teacher.
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Glad to see you here! If you're reading this, it means you're looking for a language teacher. Whether you want to learn Spanish, English or you're just looking for some conversation practice in any of these two languages, I'm the right person. I'm Daniela and I've been an English teacher for nearly 9 years. During this time I have also taught Spanish to some English speakers. I hold a bacherlor's degree in the teaching of English and Spanish as second languages and I also have a TESOL certificate. I've taught online and in classrooms to kids and adult learners. About my classes, I can tell you that you will definitely enjoy yourself since I focus a lot on your needs and interests and our learning materials are contextualized in modern and appealing subjetc matters. During our trial lesson, we will determine our starting point and the kind of topics you would like to have in our lessons. What are you waiting for? There is no room for excuses here! See you in class :)
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Daniela has a lot of teaching experience. She is very prepared and makes her lessons easy and interesting for her students. Great teacher!
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Hello !
I am a teacher of French as a Foreign Language (FLE), with a Master's degree in Training Engineering, specialising in FLE, Professional French and International Cooperation. Your needs are individual: we evaluate them together and I propose you an adapted learning based on my experience as a student as well as in a professional situation. No traditional pedagogy, we will use IT tools (TICE) to live a playful experience, inscribed in the action pedagogy, communicative method. I will accompany you whatever your level, including in the preparation for the exams for which I am qualified (France Education International, ex CIEP, DELF/DALF).
It is the exchange that is important, we move forward together.
Passionate about this profession, it is the diversity of intercultural exchanges that enriches my practice, a necessary complement to my activity in training engineering. I need to keep in touch with learners, so see you soon!
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Isabel is a french teacher who is qualified and has a great deal of experience. She has taught in different countries including the USA and Japan, and counts with different learning materials to help achieve different objectives.
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Hello,
my name is Veronika and I am a student in Florence at the academy of fine arts. I have been in Italy for three years and I really like the Italian language. In school i learned english and during journeys i used to speak a lot of english so i'm also able to teach in english.
I am from Germany so I am a German native speaker. I have already taught German to some of my friends and would love to teach my language to more people as well. At the beginning I would like to do grammar lessons and the most used words to deepen the basic knowledge of the language. Then I will continue to have conversations in German to increase vocabulary and to give confidence in dialogue and in any case in speaking the language in real scenarios. The most important thing by learning a new language is to learn it through hearing and speaking. Being difficult at first to formulate sentences will then become easier and easier and thus you arrive at a fluent and confident way to speak the new language.
For myself I learned Italian three years ago with this method so I also know what it is like to learn a language and I can help you with my teaching to learn German that way.
I can not wait to start!
greetings Veronika
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My experience with Veronika as a teacher was and still is really good. In order to reach my goals, she has setup a structured schedule and has provided good learning material. Due to my work, I had to reschedule some of my lessons and she always showed understanding in this regards. She is very friendly and easy to talk to. I can only recommend her!
Veronika N.
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Thank you very much!!!
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Yulia is a very nice teacher, with lots of patience and great preparation for each lesson. She has tailor-made each lesson for us, according to what topics we would like to focus more. We are very happy to have lessons with her to improve our German skills, especially our speaking skills, in preparation for our coming exams.
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My name is Tim Grundl and I have been teaching languages professionally for over 15 years. By using modern methods and a personal approach, the lessons become sustainable and motivating. The fun of learning should not be neglected, because learning is only possible in a relaxed atmosphere.
Book a free trial lesson and form your own opinion.
Whatever your goals are, conversation training, writing letters or emails, etc., together we will create a goal-oriented, individual plan to achieve these goals as stress-free as possible.
I would be happy to work with you.
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My husband has really enjoyed the lessons he's had with Tim. The material is rigorous and in-depth. Even after previous lessons, Tim has been able to push my husband and keep his confidence up.
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My name is Noemie, I am 27 years old, and I live in Europe. I am Belgian and French, and I am bilingual in English and French,Yo puedo hablar en espanol and ‘Wǒ zhèngzài xuéxí zhōngwén’ and я учу русский язык.
I love trying to understand the world and its mysteries through history, culture, philosophy, politics, arts and above all through traveling. Indeed, traveling is my job as I am a documentary photographer, this is why I know how crucial it is to acquire the ability to speak English. It is a gateway to deepening our self-understanding, to widening our professional horizons, and a bridge towards understanding people from all around the world.
My teaching adventure started three years ago when I decided to tour the world seeking for new adventures and new horizons to deepen my understanding of this world. Since then, I have been a TEFL certified English teacher both online and in real life. I've had the chance to teach children and adults from all around the world, in Russia, China, Vietnam and France.
This experience helped me developed my capacity to teach English to all, whether you are Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Italian, French, … language isn’t a barrier for me. Cultural exchange is my passion and if need be I will get to learn the key sentences in your language to ease the communication during our classes. I will adapt my teaching style to your learning style.
I will use what works for you to improve your comprehension skills, writing skills and pronunciation too, whether it is reading books, articles, poems and studying them, or engaging in conversation, working from a textbook, watching movies, exploring new sets of vocabularies, or practicing tongue twisters. I will tailor the class according to your level and your learning style and will provide you with the material to do so.
I used to be an actress working in Paris, so I know a lot about charisma and creating presence. With me, you will gain confidence in your oral expression, just like an actor.
Remember that I used to be where you are, trying to learn a new language, so I totally understand how overwhelming it can be. I also have plenty of tips to help you develop your learning process in your daily life.
As a learner of many languages, and a theatre studies graduate,
I have been exposed to various learning techniques, leading me to develop my own approach to education which doesn’t only makes me an English teacher but also a coach.
I believe that the secret of a good class lies in the complicity between the teacher and the student which is why a friendly environment, a set of good activities and a good laugh is my unique recipe for learning English.
My job is accomplished when you are able to speak English—it doesn’t matter how many mistakes you make: as long as you have the motivation, the rest will follow.
I’m here to help you!
If you are interested, send me a message and let’s start the journey!
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Noemie is an energetic and sunny person. She is an experienced teacher who is used to working with people from different cultures. Highly recommended!!!
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I am thrilled by my teacher Dani. She is nice, positive and does a great job.
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I am a native German speaker and am teaching English and German as foreign languages. I have got a teaching degree and have been teaching English and German for more than two years to all levels and age groups.
I personally prefer to speak in the learning language as much as possible and to focus on all four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Moreover, I like to cover practical topics that can be used in your everyday life and make classes as diverse and dynamic as possible. Nevertheless, I am always open-minded to suggestions coming from students.
Concerning materials I like to use a course book and in addition worksheets, audios, videos, etc.
In case you have got any further questions, don't hesitate to contact me :)
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Anna is a very well prepared and good teacher. She is a good teacher, dedicated to teach you. Would recommend her for everyone who would like to learn German.
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Thanks to many years of experience, I offer you professional language instruction via Skype.
I am a native speaker (bilingual German and English) and have been working with Skype for over 9 years. The courses are optimally tailored to your language level and job description. Arrange a trial lesson.
Proficient handling of everyday German, leading to various certificates (Goethe Certificates, DaF etc.), specific courses for the professional field (hotel, tourism, law, medicine - FACHSPRACHENPRÜFUNG MEDIZIN, technology, business.....).
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I am learning Medical German with Belinda. She is an excellent teacher. The lessons are very informative. We focus on my communication skills and medical terminology. I am very happy with the early results. I feel more confident and speak German more freely. I recommend her 100%.
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I’m Rebecca, originally from the UK but have been living in Germany for many years. I love making learning fun and have successfully helped my students improve their English in a pleasant atmosphere. I have experience helping my learners prepare for exams, job interviews, presentations etc. Whether business English, general conversational English or to help you prepare for a particular situation, feel free to book a trial lesson and we can discuss your needs and how I can help you! I am CELTA and TESOL qualified and have many years of experience. I’m looking forward to meeting you!
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Great teacher and very nice person. She helped me for my PhD interview, making me feeling confident with english. Highly recommended!
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Thanks to many years of experience, I offer you professional language instruction via Skype.
I am a native speaker (bilingual German and English) and have been working with Skype for over 9 years. The courses are optimally tailored to your language level and job description. Arrange a trial lesson.
Proficient handling of everyday German, leading to various certificates (Goethe Certificates, DaF etc.), specific courses for the professional field (hotel, tourism, law, medicine - FACHSPRACHENPRÜFUNG MEDIZIN, technology, business.....).
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I'm learning German with Belinda (currently B1) and I am trying to do a final push, so i can finally start speaking. Classes are very well prepared and structured. The book/ books used in the class have exercises that actually make your brain work and are not always easy to do ( this is for people who had experience with easy and boring grammar materials). We play dialogues, we have conversations through which the teacher understands where I am with my level and is trying to make adjustments to the program. And there's a lot of homework (when you ask for it) !!! : )
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I am a German native speaker who loves languages and am passionate about teaching others. I work as language teacher in a school, teach adults at the German Culture Center and prepare my students for all types of official language exams. I love my job and always seek to make it as much fun as possible.
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My experience with Melanie has been very positive, Melanie is a very qualified teacher and you can tell that from the beginning: very professional, very good methodology, diversity in material, etc. A real one on one experience as she focused together with learning of language in identification and correction of student weaknesses. My kid is engaged with her classes as he says are useful and fun, his progress in learning German has been noticed by all. I also like her flexibility to have classes during the weekends, that is a great emergency door. I am happy !! Highly recommended!!!
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Hello!
My name's Eleonora. I am from Ukraine. I am a qualified teacher and a Russian native speaker.
In 2007 I graduated from pedagogical university and since that time I work as a teacher. I love my job and always ready to share my knowledge with everyone.
If you want to improve your Russian, English or German or start learning them you will definitely like my lessons. My classes are developed for each student according to their level, interests and needs.
I try to make lessons various and use different kinds of teaching methods, exercises and technologies. My lessons include:
vocabulary enlargement and usage;wide grammar practicereading activities (from texbooks, at higher levels original texts);practicing oral speech.My schedule is quite flexible so contact me and we'll arrange the time for lessons.
See you!
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Eleonora is very friendly and methodological teacher, perfectly adapting to students needs. I have enjoyed my every class learning.
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Hallo :) I'm a German language teacher with a Bachelor and Master degree in German and with many years of teaching experience.
I was born and lived in Switzerland for many years and grew up in a bilingual family, because of that I speak German, Swiss German, Croatian and English :)
- ABOUT THE CLASS -
I offer German language lessons for A1, A2, B1, B2 level and they include everything you need: grammar, speaking, listening audio, reading, writing and for some fun: games and role plays :)
This is ideal for students who want actively participate and speak more, learn new words and exercise the grammar.
All learning materials and exercises are included and will be provided during the lesson.
The learning material is from various books: Schritte International, Menschen, Sicher im Alltag und Beruf, Begegnungen, ....
If you wish to have only conversational lessons, I can arrange this also for you (only available for B1 and B2 level).
* IMPORTANT: coLanguage shows only my general availability, if you want to book a lesson, please sent me a message with your availability and language level, and I will contact you as soon as possible with more informations :)
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she is very flexible about rescheduling the classes. she gives a lot of exercises that fit my level and make sure to correct me if I miss pronouncing some words or have difficulty to read them.
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Bianka is friendly and very patient. She is from Germany so I can learn the German pronunciations very well with her. I recommend Bianka if you are looking for a German teacher.
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Glad to see you here! If you're reading this, it means you're looking for a language teacher. Whether you want to learn Spanish, English or you're just looking for some conversation practice in any of these two languages, I'm the right person. I'm Daniela and I've been an English teacher for nearly 9 years. During this time I have also taught Spanish to some English speakers. I hold a bacherlor's degree in the teaching of English and Spanish as second languages and I also have a TESOL certificate. I've taught online and in classrooms to kids and adult learners. About my classes, I can tell you that you will definitely enjoy yourself since I focus a lot on your needs and interests and our learning materials are contextualized in modern and appealing subjetc matters. During our trial lesson, we will determine our starting point and the kind of topics you would like to have in our lessons. What are you waiting for? There is no room for excuses here! See you in class :)
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Daniela has a lot of teaching experience. She is very prepared and makes her lessons easy and interesting for her students. Great teacher!
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Hello !
I am a teacher of French as a Foreign Language (FLE), with a Master's degree in Training Engineering, specialising in FLE, Professional French and International Cooperation. Your needs are individual: we evaluate them together and I propose you an adapted learning based on my experience as a student as well as in a professional situation. No traditional pedagogy, we will use IT tools (TICE) to live a playful experience, inscribed in the action pedagogy, communicative method. I will accompany you whatever your level, including in the preparation for the exams for which I am qualified (France Education International, ex CIEP, DELF/DALF).
It is the exchange that is important, we move forward together.
Passionate about this profession, it is the diversity of intercultural exchanges that enriches my practice, a necessary complement to my activity in training engineering. I need to keep in touch with learners, so see you soon!
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Isabel is a french teacher who is qualified and has a great deal of experience. She has taught in different countries including the USA and Japan, and counts with different learning materials to help achieve different objectives.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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