The passive with werden: when what is done matters, not who
CEFR B1 · part 1
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
If I could: the Konjunktiv II with würde, hätte and wäreTalking about what is not real: what you would do, would have, would be. With the short…The genitive: des, der, and the -s stuck onto the nounSaying whose something is with the fourth case: des Mannes, der Frau, des Kindes, der…Relative clauses: der, die, das again, and the verb at the endHooking a description onto a noun with der, die or das, choosing the form with two…als, wenn or wann: German's three ways of saying «when»Choosing between the three with two questions: is it a QUESTION, direct or indirect?…The infinitive with zu: when it goes in and when it does notAttaching a second verb with zu, and knowing the few cases where it is NOT used: after…Reflexive verbs: sich, and the mich that is sometimes mirUsing the dozen reflexives that come up daily —sich freuen, sich interessieren, sich…The rule, in three lines
The German passive has two pieces: werden conjugated in second position and the participle at the end. Das Haus wird gebaut. If you need to say who, it goes with von. In the past you use wurde: Das Haus wurde gebaut. German uses it far more than English does — signs, instructions, news — because it has no impersonal «one».
The usual slip. Using sein instead of werden. Das Fenster ist geöffnet describes a STATE and Das Fenster wird geöffnet describes an ACTION. Two different sentences, and the one that comes out by itself when translating is usually the wrong one. Second mistake: in the past it is wurde, not war.
Why it catches you out. English uses «be» for both —«the window is opened» and «the window is open»— and relies on context. German splits them into two auxiliaries, so you have to decide something English never asks. The upside: the word order is identical, auxiliary early and participle late.