Video 40: Passiv – Präteritum, Perfekt, Modalverben & werden/wurden/würden

Source: Roughly 1 hour 58 minutes total (large stretches are silence/dead air with only "Thank you"/filler captions, especially 00:00–07:00 and 01:39:00–end). Approximate topic ranges:

• 00:00–07:00 — Silence/greetings/roll call — skipped
• 07:00–24:06 — Homework review: present-tense passive sentences (Tafel/Lebensmittel reading), with corrections on doer placement, dummy subject, and a Wechselverb correction — extracted below
• 24:06–32:51 — Logistics/motivational aside about grammar vs. fluency, encouraging students to practice speaking with each other outside class — skipped (not grammar content)
• 33:00–37:42 — Vocabulary recap drill (Plakat, informieren, Bürgermeister, Feuerwehrautos, Referat, Gäste, etc. — quick-fire participle/vocab review tied to the Feuerwehr reading) — extracted below
• 37:42–43:18 — Continued worked passive example (Feuerwehr/Feste text) and a comment that passive is used relatively rarely in casual B1 speaking — extracted below
• 43:18–1:02:51 — Reading text on Die Tafel (food bank) fully worked through with passive identification, plus the modal verb + passive structure introduced with worked examples — extracted below
• 1:02:51–1:12:46 — Continued Tafel reading (statistics) and new reading on Patenschaften (volunteer "godparent" support schemes) with passive forms marked — extracted below
• 1:12:46–1:18:46 — Disambiguation of werden / wurde / würde / geworden — four look-alike forms with different meanings — extracted below
• 1:18:46–1:29:47 — Wrap-up of present vs. Präteritum vs. Perfekt passive structure, worked Präteritum-passive practice sentences (Feuerwehr vocabulary) — extracted below
• 1:29:47–1:38:54 — Vocabulary: supermarket/grocery departments and items (Übungsbuch matching exercise), Partizip II formation recap (regelmäßig vs. unregelmäßig), and adjective formation with -bar and -los — extracted below
• 1:38:54–end — Homework assignment and closing logistics/long silence — only the homework list is extracted below

Topics Covered

• Homework review: present-tense passive (Tafel/food-donation reading), with corrections on Wechselverb usage and doer placement
• Modal verb + Passiv: structure and worked examples
• Präteritum Passiv and Perfekt Passiv structures, contrasted with Präsens Passiv
• Disambiguating werden vs. wurde vs. würde vs. geworden (four similar-looking but distinct forms)
• Vocabulary: Feuerwehr (fire service)/Tafel (food bank)/Patenschaft (volunteer sponsorship) reading vocabulary
• Vocabulary: supermarket departments and grocery items
• Partizip II formation recap (regelmäßig/unregelmäßig) and adjective formation with -bar/-los
• Homework assignment

Homework Review: Present-Tense Passive (Tafel Reading)

Continuing from video 39's homework, the class corrected present-tense passive sentences built from a reading about supermarkets donating leftover food:

• Gemüse, das niemand kauft, wird an die Tafel gespendet. — "Vegetables that nobody buys are donated to the Tafel [food bank]." The relative clause uses the common noun (Gemüse) rather than a pronoun, since that's the more natural style for this kind of relative-clause-plus-passive sentence.
• Die Lebensmittel werden von der Tafel verteilt. — "The groceries are distributed by the Tafel [organization]." (i.e., distributed via the Tafel's trucks/staff.)
• Worked example: Active Der Supermarkt spendet der Tafel Lebensmittel ("the supermarket donates groceries to the Tafel") → subject = supermarket (doer), accusative object = Lebensmittel, dative object = der Tafel. Passive: Lebensmittel werden der Tafel (von dem Supermarkt) gespendet — accusative Lebensmittel becomes the nominative subject, der Tafel stays dative, doer is optional with von + Dativ.
• Correction on long sentences: a student combined the relative clause and the passive verb forms (werden ... den Niemand gekauft hat) into one sentence without a comma, using three verb forms together — flagged as wrong. The teacher's recommendation: split such sentences into two separate clauses instead of cramming the relative clause and the passive structure into one.
• Wechselverb correction: in a sentence about buying a pen for a son (ich kaufe meinem Sohn einen Stift), a student had added an unnecessary preposition/extra word. Correction: keep Wechselverb-type sentences simple — don't add extra prepositions that aren't needed; e.g. plain Ich kaufe meinem Sohn einen Stift ("I'm buying my son a pen"), no extra preposition required.

Vocabulary: Feuerwehr (Fire Service) Reading

Vocabulary drilled while working through a passive-voice reading about the fire brigade:

• alarmieren — to alarm/alert
• trainieren — to train
• kontrollieren — to check/control
• der Einsatz — mission, operation, task (used repeatedly: die Einsätze werden immer mit dem Team geübt — "the missions/tasks are always practiced with the team")
• blitzschnell — lightning-fast (recalled from a previous chapter; used for how fast firefighters are alerted: die Feuerwehrleute werden blitzschnell alarmiert)
• die Uniform für den nächsten Einsatz wird gewaschen — "the uniform is washed for the next operation" (passive, present tense)
• bestätigen — to confirm
• Comment: the fire service's life doesn't consist only of practice and emergency response — Feste werden auch gefeiert ("festivals/parties are also celebrated") — Feste is the plural subject here, hence werden not wird.
• das Plakat — poster (passive context: Helfer/Helferinnen werden informiert — "helpers are informed," with Helfer as a noun/subject here, not a verb, and informieren as the conjugated passive verb)
• der Bürgermeister wird eingeladen — "the mayor is invited"
• die Kinder werden auf das Spiel vorbereitet — "the children are prepared for the game" (vorbereiten — to prepare)
• die Feuerwehrautos werden geputzt — "the fire trucks are cleaned" (putzen — to clean)
• das Referat — presentation/talk (recalled from a previous chapter, contrasted with Darstellung/Präsentation as near-synonyms for "presentation/depiction")
• Gäste werden eingeladen/empfangen — "guests are invited/received"

Modal Verb + Passiv

The teacher introduced how to form passive sentences that include a modal verb, noting this structure ("Passiv mit Modalverb") is one of the most common passive forms used in actual speaking/writing, more so than plain Präsens or Perfekt passive.

Structure: modal verb conjugated in second position (according to the new subject) → ... → Partizip II (second-to-last position) → werden (infinitive, at the very end).

The same core passive rules still apply on top of this: accusative object → nominative subject; writing the doer is optional (von + Dativ); dative object stays dative; if there's no accusative object, a dummy subject is introduced.

Worked examples:

• Active: Die Frau kann ein Schloss kaufen. — "The woman can buy a castle." Passive: Ein Schloss kann gekauft werden. — "A castle can be bought." (ein Schloss becomes nominative subject; kann in 2nd position; gekauft + werden at the end.)
• Active: Ich muss das Badezimmer putzen. — "I must clean the bathroom." Passive: Das Badezimmer muss geputzt werden. — "The bathroom needs to be cleaned."
• Active: Er soll den Teppich waschen. — "He should wash the carpet." Passive: Der Teppich soll gewaschen werden. — "The carpet should be washed."
• Active: Man darf im Kino nicht rauchen. — "One is not allowed to smoke in the cinema." Passive (complex case — no accusative object, the original subject is the indefinite pronoun man, and there's a negation to keep): Im Kino darf nicht geraucht werden. — or, with the optional dummy subject — Es darf im Kino nicht geraucht werden. Indefinite pronoun man is dropped entirely (never expressed as the doer); nicht stays before the participle; dürfen is conjugated for the dummy/absent subject (darf); geraucht werden at the end.
  • A student's attempted answer used rauchen soll (treating rauchen as if it became the subject and changing the modal to soll) — flagged as wrong: when converting active to passive, rauchen is the main verb (goes to Partizip II: geraucht), not a noun-subject, and the modal verb dürfen must stay as dürfen conjugated, not be swapped for a different modal.
  • Noted for B2: in B2 you'll also need the Präteritum of the modal verb in passive sentences (e.g. durfte instead of darf) — same rules otherwise apply.

Präteritum Passiv and Perfekt Passiv

The teacher contrasted the three passive tenses taught so far, summarizing the "skeleton" for each:

• Präsens Passiv: subject + werden (2nd position, present conjugation) + ... + Partizip II (end). E.g. Das Feuer wird gemeldet.
• Präteritum Passiv: subject + wurde(n) (2nd position, Präteritum of werden) + ... + Partizip II (end). E.g. Das Feuer wurde gemeldet. — "The fire was reported."
• Perfekt Passiv: subject + sein (2nd position, conjugated) + ... + Partizip II of the main verb + worden (end). E.g. Das Feuer ist gemeldet worden. — "The fire has been reported."
  • Critical distinction: use worden, not geworden, in Perfekt-passive sentences. The teacher flagged this as a very common mistake — students have a habit of writing geworden here, but geworden is reserved for when werden means "to become." In Perfekt-passive constructions the correct participle is always worden.
  • The helping verb in Perfekt passive is always sein, never haben, regardless of the main verb.

Worked Präteritum-passive practice sentences (fire-service themed):

• Ein Feuer wurde gemeldet. — "A fire was reported." (melden — to report)
• Die Feuerwehrleute wurden alarmiert. — "The firefighters were alerted."
• Die Bewohner/Bewohnerinnen wurden gerettet. — "The residents were rescued." (retten — to rescue/save)
• Der Brand wurde gelöscht. — "The fire was extinguished." (der Brand — fire/blaze, distinct from die Marke "brand" in the commercial sense; löschen — to extinguish/put out)

Comparing Präsens / Präteritum / Perfekt passive of the same sentence (illustrative set)

To show how the same real-world event looks across passive tenses, the teacher contrasted:

• Ich esse einen Apfel → Präsens passive: Ein Apfel wird von mir gegessen.
• Präteritum passive: Ein Apfel wurde von mir gegessen. — "An apple was eaten by me."
• Perfekt passive: Der Apfel ist von mir gegessen worden. — "The apple has been eaten by me." Note again: worden, not geworden, since this is a passive construction, not "to become."

Reading: Die Tafel (passive forms identified)

Working through a reading text about the German food-bank network Die Tafel, with passive forms marked and translated line by line:

• Lebensmittel, die niemand mehr essen kann, werden weggeworfen oder vernichtet — "Groceries that nobody can eat anymore are thrown away or destroyed" (vernichten — to destroy; wegwerfen — to throw away). Noted: vernichten specifically means "to destroy," while verschwenden-type "waste" vocabulary is a related but distinct near-synonym.
  • especially von Supermärkten und Kantinen — "especially from supermarkets and canteens" — von here marks the doer in this passive sentence.
• Gleichzeitig gibt es viele Menschen, die kaum genug Geld für Essen haben. — "At the same time there are many people who hardly have enough money for food."
• Die Lebensmittel, die qualitativ noch gut sind, werden von der Tafel gesammelt und an arme Menschen verteilt. — "Groceries that are still good in quality are collected by the Tafel and distributed to poor people." (sammeln — to collect; verteilen — to distribute.)
• Die Tafel ist in ganz Deutschland aktiv und hilft zwischen rund 1,6 Millionen Menschen. — "The Tafel is active throughout Germany and helps around 1.6 million people."
• 30 Prozent davon sind Kinder und Jugendliche. — "30 percent of them are children and youths."
• Die Organisation wird von mehr als 60.000 ehrenamtlichen Helfern/Helferinnen unterstützt. — "The organization is supported by more than 60,000 volunteer helpers." (ehrenamtlich — voluntary/honorary; unterstützen — to support.)
• Allein in Berlin gibt es bei der ersten Tafel Deutschlands über 1.540 Ausgabestellen — "In Berlin alone, [run by] the first Tafel of Germany, there are over 1,540 distribution/issuing points" — die Ausgabestelle — distribution point/office, where needy people (bedürftige Menschen) can pick up groceries (Lebensmittel abholen können).

Reading: Patenschaften (Volunteer Sponsorship Schemes)

New vocabulary topic: Patenschaft (godparent-style volunteer sponsorship/mentoring), explicitly distinguished from the similar-looking Partnerschaft ("partnership") — a different concept.

• Context given: in Germany, many elderly people may not be able to go shopping alone, drive, or manage paperwork/bank visits independently — or a family facing financial difficulty may not be able to afford a tutor for their children. Patenschaft describes volunteers (Paten/ Patinnen — godparents/sponsors) stepping in to assist with such day-to-day activities.
• (eine) Mühe haben — to have/face difficulty, to make an effort (e.g. manche Familien haben Mühe, den Alltag alleine zu bewältigen — "some families have difficulty managing daily life alone"; bewältigen — to manage/cope with).
• ... und werden von Ehrenamtlichen, Paten und Patinnen unterstützt. — "... and are supported by volunteers, godparents/sponsors." (Passive: werden + unterstützt, doer marked with von + Dativ.)
• Paten/Patinnen help with:
  • Behördengänge — visits/errands to (government) authorities
  • Wohnungs- und Arbeitssuche — apartment search and job search
  • Hausaufgaben der Kinder — children's homework; Nachhilfe geben — to give tuition/tutoring (Nachhilfe = tutoring/extra lessons)
  • Doing activities together and listening to problems (Probleme zuhören)
• Normalerweise trifft sich ein Pate/eine Patin einmal pro Woche mit der Familie, je nach Betreuungsweise. — "Normally a sponsor meets with the family once a week, depending on the type of care/supervision arrangement." (Betreuungsweise — mode/manner of care/supervision.)
• Oft entstehen auch Freundschaften, und der Pate/die Patin begleitet die Familie manchmal über viele Jahre. — "Friendships often emerge too, and the sponsor sometimes accompanies the family for many years." (entstehen — to emerge/arise; begleiten — to accompany.)
• Kontakte werden über Organisationen vermittelt — "Contacts are arranged/mediated through organizations" (passive: werden + vermittelt, vermitteln — to mediate/arrange).
• Example named organization: a Berlin-based Verein (club/association), founded (gegründet) in 2004, that has since brought together (zusammengebracht/gebracht) many Patenschaften.

Disambiguating werden / wurde / würde / geworden

A dedicated section addressing four forms students were confusing:

• werden — usually means "to become" (present tense) or functions as the future-tense auxiliary ("will"), or as the passive auxiliary. Example (become/future sense): Ich werde am Montag 45 Jahre alt. — "I am turning/becoming 45 years old on Monday."
• wurde — the Präteritum of werden in its "became" sense: Ich wurde letztes Jahr 45 Jahre alt. — "I became 45 years old last year." (Also doubles as the Präteritum passive auxiliary, covered above.)
• würde — corresponds to English "would"; used for wishes and Konjunktiv II-type structures. It always requires the main verb in the infinitive at the end of the clause — functionally similar to the modal particle möchte ("would like to"). Example: Wenn ich ein Auto kaufen würde, würde ich nach Deutschland gehen. — "If I were to buy a car, I would go to Germany."
• geworden — the Partizip II of werden used in the "to become" sense within Perfekt tense (helping verb sein): Ich bin letztes Jahr 45 Jahre alt geworden. — "I became/have become 45 years old last year." Contrasted explicitly with worden, which is the Partizip II form used instead of geworden specifically inside Perfekt-passive constructions (see above).

Summary contrast sentence used to nail the active-vs-passive participle distinction: Der Apfel ist von mir gegessen worden. ("The apple has been eaten by me" — passive Perfekt, worden) vs. a hypothetical ...geworden would be wrong here since this is not a "become" sentence.

Vocabulary: Supermarket Departments and Groceries

From an Übungsbuch matching exercise (departments/Abteilungen of a supermarket matched to items):

• Fisch und Fleisch — fish and meat
• Milchprodukte — dairy products
• Obst und Gemüse — fruits and vegetables
• Gebäck — baked goods
• Gewürze und Soßen — spices and sauces/condiments
• Schlagsahne — whipped cream
• Butter/Margarine — butter/margarine (margarine described as a spread, like mayonnaise)
• Quark — curd/quark (a dairy product)
• Konfitüre/Marmelade — jam
• Brötchen/Croissant — bread roll/croissant
• Pflaume — plum
• Ketchup, Pudding (dairy-adjacent product), Hackfleisch — minced meat

Partizip II Formation Recap

Quick recap drilled via the same vocabulary set:

• Regular (regelmäßig) Partizip II: ge- + stem + -t/-et at the end (e.g. kaufen → gekauft; arbeiten → gearbeitet, using -et because the stem ends in a consonant cluster).
• If the participle does not end in -t/-et, it is irregular (unregelmäßig), e.g. einladen → eingeladen (ends in -en, irregular pattern: ge- + en).
• Drilled forms: bestellen → bestellt; informieren → informiert; wegwerfen → weggeworfen; mitnehmen → mitgenommen; empfangen → empfangen (stays the same — verbs with inseparable prefixes like emp- don't take ge-).

Adjective Formation: -bar and -los

• -bar suffix turns a verb into an adjective meaning roughly "-able/-ible":
  • machbar — doable, achievable
  • haltbar — durable, keeps well (e.g. Viele Lebensmittel sind sehr lange haltbar — "many groceries stay good/durable for a long time")
  • erreichbar — reachable (e.g. Mein Arbeitsplatz ist auch zu Fuß erreichbar — "my workplace is also reachable on foot")
  • recycelbar — recyclable (e.g. Das Material ist zu 100 Prozent recycelbar)
• -los suffix turns a noun into an adjective meaning "without/-less":
  • hilflos — helpless (Es gibt keine Hilfe, die arme... ist hilflos)
  • kostenlos — free of charge
  • arbeitslos — unemployed (note the extra -e ending when inflected: er ist arbeitslos)
  • problemlos — without problems, smoothly (Das geht ohne Probleme, wir können das schnell und problemlos lösen)

Notes & Tips

• Modal-verb passive is the most commonly used passive structure in real speaking/writing — more so than plain Präsens or Perfekt passive — so it's worth prioritizing for B2 prep.
• worden vs. geworden is flagged as a very common student mistake: always use worden (never geworden) as the second participle in Perfekt-passive sentences; reserve geworden for when werden means "to become."
• Indefinite pronouns (man, niemand) are never written as the doer in a passive sentence — when converting, simply drop them rather than translating "by one"/"by nobody" literally.
• Don't combine a relative clause and a passive main clause into a single unbroken sentence with no comma and three verb forms stacked together — split into two clauses instead; the teacher marked this as a structural error even when the individual words were correct.
• For the B1 exam specifically, the teacher reiterated (continuing the point from video 39) that passive voice is being taught now mainly so it can be used confidently at B2; B1 Schreiben/Sprechen does not require it, and over-focusing on grammar (including passive) can hurt fluency — better to prioritize verb-position basics, connectors, and vocabulary for B1, and treat passive mastery as a B2 goal.
• Homework assigned: Übungsbuch (workbook) pages 118 (Präsens and Vergangenheit/past passive), 120 (Aktiv↔Passiv with modal verbs, and a vocab/general-knowledge exercise — "no grammar" on part of that page), and 115b (rearranging/ordering a Meinung-äußern-style exercise on Freiheit, from the previous day); plus writing the passive-tense rules/skeletons and example sentences into the notes.