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The passive voice -
Allgemeines
Wenn man in der Grammatik von Aktiv und Passiv spricht, ist generell nicht die Betonung einer sportlicher Betätigung oder Nichtbetätigung gemeint.
Im grammatischen Sinne handelt es sich beim Gebrauch der beiden Fachausdrücke um die verschiedene Sichtweise ein und derselben Handlung:
zwei Sätze mit fast identischer Bedeutung werden auf unterschiedliche Art und Weise gebildet.
Wenn eine bestimmte Handlung betont werden soll, verwendet man das Passiv. Es ist dabei eher unwichtig, wer die Handlung ausübt oder für sie verantwortlich ist. Sehr oft soll der Handelnde unbekannt bleiben: wenn der Sprecher vermeiden will, die handelnde Person zu benennen, ist dies dann für ihn der ausschlaggebende Grund, das Passiv zu verwenden.
"Erleidet" das Subjekt die vom Verb ausgehende Handlung und führt es diese Handlung nicht selbst aus, bedeutet dies, dass der Sprecher das Passiv verwendet. Durch diese Sichtweise wird weniger der Verursacher der Handlung in den Mittelpunkt der Aussage gerückt als vielmehr die Handlung selbst.
Beim Aktivsatz ist das Subjekt dasjenige, das etwas tut oder ist.
Beim Passivsatz erleidet das Subjekt die Handlung, die durch das Verb ausgedrückt wird. Deshalb wird Passiv im Deutschen auch häufig mit Leideform übersetzt.
Das Passiv wird im Englischen häufiger verwendet als im Deutschen, da es für den native speaker meistens wichtiger ist zu wissen, was getan wird, als wer etwas tut. Mithilfe des Passivs lässt sich ein wesentlicher Zug der englischen Sprache ermöglichen: die objektive Aussageform.
Das Passiv macht das beschriebene Ereignis abstrakt, wohingegen das Aktiv die beschriebene Handlung anschaulich und real erscheinen lässt.
Dass das Passiv eher der formalen Sprachebene angehört, lässt sich daran erkennen, dass es sehr häufig in Presse-
Aktiv | The boy bites the dog. |
Passiv | The dog is bitten (by the boy). |
▪ Bildung des Passivs
Verben können entweder im Aktiv oder im Passiv vorkommen. Dies hängt vom Verb selbst ab bzw. von der Art der Aussage, die der Sprecher machen will.
Grundsätzlich kann das Passiv in allen Zeitformen (theoretisch) mit alle transitiven Verben (= Verb mit Akkusativobjekt) gebildet werden.
Hier werden die gebräuchlichsten Zeitformen angeführt.
In den verschiedenen Zeiten sieht das folgendermaßen aus (die handelnde Person (z. B. Peter, der Designer) wird nicht mit by angeschlossen (... by Peter, ... by the designer)):
eine Form von be
im simple present present progressive, simple past, past progressive, present perfect past perfect, future, future perfect |
+ |
past participle (= 3. Form des Verbs, Mittelwort der Vergangenheit, Partizip Perfekt) |
+ |
(by - agent) |
bejahte Aussage | ||||||
tense | subject | auxiliary + not | past participle | |||
Form von be | Form von be | 3. Form des Verbs | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | |||
present | The car | The cars | is | are | designed | . |
present perfect | The car | The cars | has been | have been | designed | . |
past | The car | The cars | was | were | designed | . |
past perfect | The car | the cars | had been | had been | designed | . |
future | The car | The cars | will be | will be | designed | . |
future perfect | The car | The cars | will have been | will have been | designed | . |
to be going to - future | The car | The cars | is going to be | are going to be | designed | . |
present progressive | The car | The cars | is being | are being | designed | . |
past progressive | The car | The cars | was being | were being | designed | . |
modal form present | The car | The cars | can* be | can* be | designed | . |
modal form past | The car | The cars | would** be | would** be | designed | . |
modal form perfect | The car | The cars | will** have been | will** have been | designed | . |
verneinte Aussage | ||||||
tense | subject | auxiliary + not | past participle | |||
Form von be | Form von be | 3. Form des Verbs | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | |||
present | The car | The cars | is not | are not | designed | . |
present perfect | The car | The cars | has not been | have not been | designed | . |
past | The car | The cars | was not | were not | designed | . |
past perfect | The car | The cars | had not been | had not been | designed | . |
future | The car | The cars | will not be | will not be | designed | . |
future perfect | The car | The cars | will not have been | will not have been | designed | . |
to be going to - future | The car | The cars | is not going to be | are not going to be | designed | . |
present progressive | The car | The cars | is not being | are not being | designed | . |
past progressive | The car | The cars | was not being | were not being | designed | . |
modal form present | The car | The cars | cannot* be | cannot* be | designed | . |
modal form past | The car | The cars | would** not be | would** not be | designed | . |
modal form perfect | The car | The cars | will** not have been | will** not have been | designed | . |
bejahter Fragesatz | ||||||||
tense |
auxiliary
part 1 |
auxiliary
part 1 |
subject |
auxiliary
part 2 + |
auxiliary
part 2 + |
past participle |
||
Form von be | Form von be | 3. Form des Verbs | ||||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | |||||
present | Is | are | the car | the cars | designed | ? | ||
present perfect | Has | Have | the car | the cars | been | been | designed | ? |
past | Was | Were | the car | the cars | designed | ? | ||
past perfect | Had | Had | the car | the cars | been | been | designed | ? |
future | Will | Will | the car | the cars | be | be | designed | ? |
future perfect | Will | Will | the car | the cars | have been | have been | designed | ? |
to be going to - future | Is | are | the car | the cars | going to be | going to be | designed | ? |
present progressive | Is | are | the car | the cars | being | being | designed | ? |
past progressive | Were | Were | the car | the cars | being | being | designed | ? |
modal form present | Can* | Can* | the car | the cars | be | be | designed | ? |
modal form past | Would** | Would** | the car | the cars | be | be | designed | ? |
modal form perfect | Will** | Will** | the car | the cars | have been | have been | designed | ? |
verneinter Fragesatz | ||||||||
tense |
auxiliary
part 1 |
auxiliary
part 1 |
subject |
auxiliary
part 2 + |
auxiliary
part 2 + |
past participle | ||
Form von be | Form von be | 3. Form des Verbs | ||||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | |||||
present | Is | Are | the car | the cars | not | not | designed | ? |
present perfect | Has | Have | the car | the cars | not been | not been | designed | ? |
past | Was | Were | the car | the cars | not | not | designed | ? |
past perfect | Had | Had | the car | the cars | not been | not been | designed | ? |
future | Will | Will | the car | the cars | not be | not be | designed | ? |
future perfect | Will | Will | the car | the cars | not have been | not have been | designed | ? |
to be going to - future | Is | Are | the car | the cars | not going to be | not going to be | designed | ? |
present progressive | Is | Are | the car | the cars | not being | not being | designed | ? |
past progressive | Were | Were | the car | the cars | not being | not being | designed | ? |
modal form present | Can* | Can* | the car | the cars | not be | not be | designed | ? |
modal form past | Would** | Would** | the car | the cars | not be | not be | designed | ? |
modal form perfect | Will** | Will** | the car | the cars | not have been | not have been | designed | ? |
* : can, shall, will, must, may, ought to
** : could, should, would, might
Die (verneinte) Imperativform des Passivs passt nicht in obiges Schema:
Don't be surprised. |
Don't be deceived by appearances. |
Don't be overwhelmed. |
▪ Die Umwandlung eines Aktivsatzes in einen Passivsatz
Das Subjekt des Aktivsatzes wird zum Objekt des Passivsatzes (falls nötig, Anschluss mit by).
Das Objekt des Aktivsatzes wird zum Subjekt des Passivsatzes.
Das Verb ändert seine Form von Aktiv zu Passiv unter Beibehaltung der Zeit.
Aktiv | They are repairing the road. | present progressive |
Passiv | The road is being repaired. | present progressive |
▪ Verben mit zwei Objekten
Es gibt Verben mit zwei Ergänzungen (Akkusativobjekt und Dativobjekt), wie beispielsweise:
to ask | to offer | to refuse |
to bring | to order | to send |
to buy | to owe | to show |
to describe | to pass | to sing |
to give | to pay | to take |
to hand | to play | to teach |
to lend | to promise | to tell |
to make | to read | to write |
Solche Verben, die im Aktivsatz zwei Objekte haben, können zwei Passivsätze mit je einem dieser Objekte als Subjekt haben.
In der Regel wird die Ausdrucksweise mit der Person als Subjekt bevorzugt.
Aktiv | The sailors gave them wonderful pearls. |
Passiv (1) | They were given wonderful pearls by the sailors. |
Passiv (2) | Wonderful pearls were given (to) them by the sailors. |
Aktiv | My son offered me a soft drink. |
Passiv (1) | I was offered a soft drink by my son. |
Passiv (2) | A soft drink was offered (to) me by my son. |
▪ Umwandlung der Pronomen
Besondere Schwierigkeiten bei der Aktiv -
Aktivsatz |
← → |
Passivsatz |
I ... |
← → |
... by me |
You ... |
← → |
... by you |
He ... |
← → |
... by him |
She ... |
← → |
... by her |
It ... |
← → |
... by it |
We ... |
← → |
... by us |
You ... |
← → |
... by you |
They ... |
← → |
... by them |
▪ Verben mit Präposition und das Passiv
Es gibt Verben, die immer mit einer Präposition verbunden sind.
Sie werden auch phrasal verbs genannt.
Die Präposition hilft, den inhaltlichen Unterschied zwischen solchen Verben und dem Verb ohne Präposition zu verdeutlichen. So bedeutet
to throw |
etwas anderes als
to throw away |
oder
to throw up |
Wird mit diesen präpositionalen Verben ein Passivsatz gebildet, so werden Verb und Präposition nicht voneinander getrennt.
Aktiv | Harry waited for his friend in the yard. |
Passiv | His friend was waited for in the yard. |
Aktiv | The students had listened to the headmaster's speech. |
Passiv | The headmaster's speech had been listened to by the students. |
▪ Besondere Passivstrukturen
Der formale Charakter des Passivs im Gegensatz zum eher informalen des Aktivs wird besonders deutlich bei den nachstehend in Nachrichten und Pressetexten häufig anzutreffenden Wendungen:
Ausdruck | Beispielsatz |
to be considered | Bach is considered a genius. |
to be made | She has been made very happy. |
to be expected | It was expected that the companies would merge in 2006. |
to be seen | The robber was seen to enter the bank. |
to be elected | Joff was elected captain of the team. |
to be thought | He is thought to have won the elections. There are thought to be fewer accidents this year. |
to be asked | Tim was asked to help with the function. |
to be called | This politician is called stupid by all the voters. |
to be believed | At that time it was believed that birds caused those diseases. |
to be said | The McGills are said to be millionaires. There were said to be rats in the cellar. |
In der gesprochenen Sprache findet sich häufig anstelle des Hilfsverbs be zur Bildung des Passivs auch get.
to be + past participle | to get + past participle |
The robber was arrested after the bank raid. | The robber got arrested after the bank raid. |
Pat is invited to the dance. | Pat got invited to the dance. |
▪ Vorgangspassiv und Zustandspassiv
In Passivsätzen, deren Verb eine Zustandsänderung ausdrückt, kann der Passivsatz doppeldeutig sein, manchmal selbst wenn man den Kontext als Verständnishilfe heranzieht.
Englisch | German | dynamic / static |
The door is locked. | Die Tür wird verschlossen. | Vorgangspassiv |
Die Tür ist verschlossen. | Zustandspassiv | |
The window was opened. | Das Fenster wurde geöffnet. | Vorgangspassiv |
Das Fenster war geöffnet. | Zustandspassiv |
Um Klarheit zu schaffen, ob es sich um das Vorgangspassiv oder das Zustandspassiv handelt, lässt sich für das Vorgangspassiv die Verlaufsform einsetzen, für das Zustandspassiv anstelle einer Form von be die entsprechende Form der Verben get oder become.
Englisch | German | dynamic / static |
The road is being repaired. | Die Straße wird gerade repariert. | Vorgangspassiv |
The road got repaired. | Die Straße wurde repariert. | Zustandspassiv |
They became prepared to perform at a very high level. | Sie wurden (waren) vorbereitet, um auf einem sehr hohen Niveau zu arbeiten. | Zustandspassiv |
▪ Der by -
In den (relativ seltenen) Fällen, in denen der Urheber einer Handlung genannt werden soll, wird er mit by angeschlossen.
Passiv | This house was built by Le Corbusier. |
Wird nach dem Urheber der Handlung gefragt, so wird by dem past participle nachgestellt.
Passiv | Who was the race won by? |
Wäre das mit by anzuschließende Objekt someone oder das (unpersönliche) them, dann sollte es weggelassen werden.
Aktiv | Someone offered him a drink. |
Passiv | He was offered a drink. |
Der by -
Aktiv | The judge sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment. |
Passiv | He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. |
Weiterhin steht im Normalfall kein by + Objekt, es sei denn, zwei by -
Aktiv | The headmaster caught the thief and not the police. |
Passiv | The thief was caught by the headmaster and not by the police. |
▪ Der Infinitiv und das Gerundium im Passiv
Tatsächlich gibt es auch einen Infinitiv Passiv. Dieser kann die gleichen Funktionen ausüben wie der Infinitiv Aktiv.
example | function |
To be appointed by the Executive Committee was a great honour. | subject |
The boys really like to be read by their father. | object |
This lady was the first woman to be admitted to our university. | modifier |
Gleiches gilt für das Gerundium im Passiv.
example | function |
Being chosen for the Olympics is the latest of several major achievements for Joff over the past several months. | subject |
I think you will find it right that I do not want to be tested in such a way. | object |
Jim was never fond of being named after his grandfather. | object + preposition |
Verkürzte Relativsätze mit passivischer Bedeutung
Wenn ein past participle (= 3. Form) Teil einer Passivkonstruktion ist, wird bei gleichem Subjekt in Haupt-
example: relative clause | |
The lake, which has been frozen over since early November, is now safe for ice-skating. | before |
The lake, frozen over since early November, is now safe for ice-skating. | after |
example: subordinate clause | |
Although the mountain bike has been designed for off-road performance, it does not always behave well in the dunes. | before |
Designed for off-road performance, the mountain bike does not always behave well in the dunes. | after |