I. Building and forms: A sentence can be written in the active or passive. This is a question of your point of view to the circumstances: In the active sentence, the subject performs / executes the process. The sentence on the left gives information about Carl Benz (he built the first car with a petrol engine). In the passive sentence, something is done with the subject. The sentence on the left informs about the car (where and when it was built). active: Carl Benz built the first car with a petrol engine. passive: This car was built in Mannheim in The passive is built with a form of be + past participle. In German the passive is built with a form of werden + Partizip Perfekt. The rules for the use of the tenses are like in the active. tense form of beparticiples simple present: Letters arewritten. (…werden geschrieben) simple past: werewritten. (…wurden geschrieben) present perfect: have beenwritten. (…sind geschrieben worden) past perfect: had beenwritten. (…waren geschrieben worden.) will-future: will be written. (…werden geschrieben) present progressive: are beingwritten. (…werden (gerade) geschrieben) past progressive: were beingwritten. (…wurden (gerade) geschrieben) modal auxiliary: should be written. (…sollte geschrieben werden) must have beenwritten. (…muss geschrieben werden) Probleme werden in unseren Versammlungen diskutiert. Problems are discussed at our meetings. (simple present; passive) Wir werden am Montag einige neue Probleme diskutieren. We will discuss some new problems on Monday. (will-future; active) In German we use werden not only for the passive, but also for the building of the future. The Passive

1.Lasers are used in CD players and videodisc systems. Holgrams are also produced with the help of lasers. 2. A cyclist was injured in an accident in Wembley Park Road yesterday. The 17-year-old youth was taken to hospital, where he was treated for shock and minor cuts. It seems that the accident was nobody's fault. 3. The worst earthquake in California was in 1906, when San Francisco was almost completely destroyed. More than 2000 people were killed. Widespread fires which broke out after the quake could not be put out for three days. Like in German, we use the passive to express what is done or happens with a thing or a person. The person, who acts is normally: not known or not important (Examples 1 and 2) certain (Example 3). Because of this, the passive is often used: in technical or scientific explanations (Example 1) in information about accidents or crimes (Example 2) in reports about natural catastrophes (Example 3), if you cant or dont want to or need not to articulate the person who takes action or the person who caused the incident. Because of this reasons, the passive is rather impersonally and neutral. II. Use: On signs or headlines of papers, (Example 1, 2) the passive is often used in a shorted form. 1. English spoken here (= English is spoken here.) 2. Baby kidnapped from hospital (= A baby has been kidnapped...) If you want to give further information or want to express who does something or why something happens, you extend the sentence with the preposition by. (e.G. by Howard Carter, by falling rocks). Our car was damaged by falling rocks.

Subjektdirektes Objekt 1. active:The police questioned everybody. passive:Everybodywas questioned. Subjektdirektes Objekt 2. active:They told me to leave at once. passive:I was told to leave at once. The English passive can be built with almost all verbs followed by an object in the active sentence. (Examples 1-2). The subject of the passive sentence corresponds to the object of the active sentence. III. Application at verbs with one object: Subjektdirektes Objekt 1. active:People will remember her for a long time. passive:She will be remembered for a long time. Man wird sich noch lange an sie erinnern. Some English Verbs can build a personal passive; (mostly with persons as subject) by contrast to the German ones: advise sb.jemandem (etwas) raten allow sb.jemandem (etwas) erlauben answer sb.jemandem antworten follow sb.jemandem folgen help sb.jemandem helfen join sb.sich jemandem anschließen remember sb./sth. sich an jd../etwas erinnern thank sb.jemandem danken Die entsprechenden deutschen Verben können kein persönliches Passiv bilden, weil sie intransitiv sind, d.h. ihnen folgt im Aktivsatz ein Dativ­objekt oder ein Präpositionalobjekt (Beispiel 1: an sie). Sie können daher nur mit man bzw. unpersönlichen Passivkonstruktionen (Beispiel 1: Man wird sich...) wiedergegeben werden.

IV. Application at verbs with two objects: Subjektindirektes Objekt direktes Objekt 1. active:The agency offered Kelly/her a TV role. passive:She was offered a TV role She was promised a film part, too Subjektindirektes Objekt direktes Objekt 2. active:The agency offered Kelly a TV role passive:A TV role was offered to Kelly. Verbs like give, offer, promise, show, tell are normally followed by two objects : a indirect and a direct object. At verbs with two objects, mostly the indirect object (Personenobjekt) of the active sentence (Kelly/her) becomes subject of the passive sentence (Kelly/She). This personal Passive does not exist in German. The dativ-object of the active sentence (ihr) stays existing. Also the direct object (Sachobjekt) of the active sentence (a TV role, a film part) can become subject of the passive sentence. If you start a passive sentence with a direct or indirect object (Sachobjekt oder Personenobjekt) corresponds on the circumstances and the intention of the phrase Michael Gerl