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WORD GRAMMAR
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Verb
- Conjugation in indicative
- Person and number
- Tenses
- Voice
- Mood
- Verb categories
- Valency
- Semantic categories of verbs
- Finite / non-finite verb forms
- Noun
- Adjective
- Adverb
- Article
- Pronoun
- Preposition
- Conjunction
- Particle
- Interjection
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Verb
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SENTENCE GRAMMAR
- Clause types
- Complex clauses
- Constituents of a sentence
- Sentence structure
- Word order in a sentence
- Negation
Passive with modal verbs
Example for the impersonal passive:
active | passive | |||||||||
modal verb | + active infinitive | modal verb | + passive infinitive | |||||||
Die Kinder | müssen | den Eltern | im Haushalt | helfen | Es | muss | den Eltern | im Haushalt | geholfen werden. | |
Den Eltern | muss | im Haushalt | geholfen werden. | |||||||
Im Haushalt | muss | den Eltern | geholfen werden. |
The following changes take place:
The subject of the active voice sentence is not mentioned in the passive voice sentence.* | |
In the active voice, the modal verb governs the active infinitive; in the passive voice, it governs the passive infinitive. | |
Dative, genitive and prepositional objects of the active voice sentence retain their function in the passive voice sentence. | |
Adverbial complements in the active voice sentence retain their function in the passive voice sentence. | |
If the active voice sentence has no accusative object, the word "es" becomes the subject of the passive voice sentence. However, if another constituent of the sentence occupies the first position, "es" must be omitted and is not mentioned in the sentence. |
* The subject of the active voice sentence can be mentioned in the passive voice sentence by using a prepositional phrase introduced by the prepositions von or durch. The indefinite pronoun man is an exception; it cannot be mentioned as an agent in the passive voice sentence when it is the subject of the active voice sentence.