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WORD GRAMMAR
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Verb
- Conjugation in indicative
- Person and number
- Tenses
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- Noun
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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
Zustandspassiv (sein-passive)
There are two types of passive voice in the German language, the Vorgangspassiv (werden-passive) and the more rarely used Zustandspassiv (sein-passive).
Examples | verb voice |
Der Motor wird repariert. | Vorgangspassiv (werden-passive) |
Der Motor ist repariert. | Zustandspassiv (sein-passive) |
Differences: Vorgangspassiv - Zustandspassiv
First of all, the Vorgangspassiv and the Zustandspassiv differ in form. While the Vorgangspassiv is formed with the auxiliary verb werden and the past participle (Partizip II) of a full verb, the Zustandspassiv is formed with the auxiliary verb sein and the past articiple (Partizip II) of a full verb.
Examples | verb voice | formation |
Der Motor wird repariert. | Vorgangspassiv | werden + past participle (Partizip II) |
Der Motor ist repariert. | Zustandspassiv | sein + past participle (Partizip II) |
Where the two types differ the most is that, the Zustandspassiv, contrary to the Vorgangspassiv, does not express action, but rather the result of an action.
Examples | verb voice | |
Der Motor wird repariert. | Vorgangspassiv | action |
Der Motor ist repariert. | Zustandspassiv | result of an action |
In the Zustandspassiv, the agent is almost never mentioned with a prepositional phrase introduced by von or durch.
Example | |
Der Motor ist vom Mechaniker repariert. | FALSE |
The agent is usually mentioned when it indicates the medium or the instrument. In this case, prepositions other than durch or von are used - for instance mit and über- and the Vorgangspassiv cannot be formed.
active | Vorgangspassiv | Zustandspassiv |
Staub bedeckt die Bücher. | Die Bücher werden mit Staub bedeckt. | Die Bücher sind mit Staub bedeckt. |
FALSE |