Posted by Zustandspassiv/ Staatal Passive Voice
Zustandspassiv or statal passive as it is called in English, expresses a situation where something has been done already. That is to say it has been finished with. It is formed with the auxiliary verb sein + Partizip II of any main verb. And just like the Vorgangspassiv, it can be formed in different tenses (Präsens, Perfekt, Präteritum and Plusquamperfekt) except in the future tense and of course it is determined by the tense of the auxiliary verb sein.
How to form the Zustandspassiv in the present tense
This is formed with the present tense of sein + the Partizip II of the referred verb. This can sometimes be similar to the perfect tense of those verbs e.g fahren, sterben, passieren etc. that use sein as their auxiliary. Nevertheless, it can be differentiated based on the context of the conversation. For example;
| Usage |
|---|
| 1.The car is bought.—— das Auto ist gekauft. 2. The old houses are painted.—— die alten Häuser sind gemalt. 3. You are observed.—— du bist beobachtet. |
Observe that the conjugation of sein in English is not in the present continuous form (with –ing) like that of Vorgangspassiv in Präsens. This is a major difference, although several translations don’t tell the difference apart.
How to form the Zustandspassiv in Perfekt
Although this form of passive is not used in speaking because of its complexed form, it can be used in writing of article and novels. It is formed with the Perfect form of sein together with the Partizip II of the referring verb. And since the perfect form of any verb already contains a Partizip II, this would give rise to two Partizip II.
In this case, the Partizip II which results from the perfect form of the auxiliary is placed at the end of the sentence while the other which is of the passive form is placed directly before it. The order of this tense of Zustandspassiv simply becomes; present auxiliary form of sein + Partizip II + Partizip II of sein
| Usage |
|---|
| 1.The car has been bought.—— das Auto ist gekauft gewesen. 2. The old houses have been painted.—— die alten Häuser sind gemalt gewesen. 3. You has been observed.—— du bist beobachtet gewesen. |
How to form the Zustandspassiv in Präteritum
To form the Präteritum of the Zustandspassiv, the auxiliary verb sein must be conjugated in the Präteritum (waren) at the second position while the Partizip II remains at the end of the sentence unaltered. In a simple form, the sentence is Formen with the Präteritum of sein + Partizip II of the referenced verb. For example;
| Usage |
|---|
| 1.The car was bought.—— das Auto war gekauft. 2. The old houses were painted.—— die alten Häuser waren gemalt. 3. You were observed.—— du warst beobachtet. |
How to form the Zustandspassiv in Plusquamperfekt
The Plusquamperfekt of the Zustandspassiv is formed from the Plusquamperfekt form of the auxiliary verb sein which is Präteritum of sein + Partizip II of sein (waren + gewesen) together with the Partizip II of the supported verb. The form becomes Präteritum of sein + Partizip II of supported verb + Partizip II of sein.
| Usage |
|---|
| 1.The car had been bought.—— das Auto war gekauft gewesen. 2. The old houses had been painted.—— die alten Häuser waren gemalt gewesen. 3. You had been observed.—— du warst beobachtet gewesen. |
How to mention the subject with von and durch in a passive sentence
Although it is stated earlier that the passive voice doesn’t require the subject or action performer which is true, the subject if it’s a living thing (humans, animals or plants etc.) can nevertheless be introduced using the preposition “von” in German. This is translated as “by” in English. When the subject is inanimate, durch is rather used.
| Usage |
|---|
| 1. The car will be bought by me.—— das Auto wird von mir gekauft werden. 2. The patient was protected by the vaccine.—— die Patientin wurde durch den Impfstoff geschützt. 3. You are being observed by Mary.—— du wirst von Maria beobachtet. |
Also, it is possible to have a passive sentence that has a dative or an indirect object. In this instance, the dative is solely benefiting from whatever there is in the sentence. In English sentences, the dative often resembles the subject or Nominativ in the passive voice.
| Usage |
|---|
| 1. I was given a plate of rice.—— mir wurde ein Teller Reis gegeben. 2. She is being bought a car.—— ihr wird ein Auto gekauft. 3. The people have been gifted a beautiful house.—— den Leuten ist ein schönes Haus geschenkt worden. |