A2-25 · Describe what is done with the present passive
The environment
Use wird or werden plus a past participle to describe recycling and energy-saving routines.
About 5 minutes to read · 13 quiz questions
01
Focus on the action
The passive focuses on what happens to something. Form it with werden and a past participle: Der Müll wird getrennt. Müll is singular here, so use wird. The person doing the work can remain unnamed.
Der Müll wird getrennt.
The rubbish is sorted.
Das Papier wird gesammelt.
The paper is collected.
Das Glas wird recycelt.
The glass is recycled.
Der Abfall wird sortiert.
The waste is sorted.
Trennen means to separate or sort. Its past participle is getrennt. Compare Wir trennen den Müll with Der Müll wird getrennt. The object of the active sentence becomes the passive subject.
02
One item or several
Plural subjects use werden: Die Flaschen werden gesammelt. The participle does not change for singular or plural subjects. Die Verpackung is packaging; die Flasche is a bottle.
Die Flaschen werden gesammelt.
The bottles are collected.
Die Verpackungen werden sortiert.
The packages are sorted.
Die Dose wird recycelt.
The can is recycled.
Die Dosen werden gesammelt.
The cans are collected.
The finite verb agrees with the subject: eine Flasche wird, viele Flaschen werden. The action word gesammelt stays the same.
03
Describe a routine
Use the passive for routines in a fictional community centre: lights are switched off and water is saved. With separable verbs, ge goes between the prefix and stem: ausschalten → ausgeschaltet.
Das Licht wird ausgeschaltet.
The light is switched off.
Im Zentrum wird Wasser gespart.
Water is saved at the centre.
Die Fenster werden geschlossen.
The windows are closed.
Energie wird gespart.
Energy is saved.
Do not confuse this with the future from the previous chapter. Future uses werden plus an infinitive: wird sparen. Passive uses werden plus a participle: wird gespart.
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