Passiv - Alternativformen

German	English
Man verkauft das Haus. Das Haus verkauft sich leicht. Das Haus lässt sich leicht verkaufen. Das Haus ist leicht zu verkaufen.	The house is being sold. The house can be sold easily. The house can be sold easily. The house can be sold easily.

What do you need passive voice substitutes for?

The "real" passive voice sounds formal and is found, therefor, mostly in written German.
In German as well as in English, we prefer the active voice.

In German exist a number of verb constructions (=passive voice substitutes)
which are active voice but allow to omit the agent as you do it in "real" passive voice sentences.

The man construction

The man construction is very often used in German.
You can translate "man" with one/you/they (in general) or a passive voice sentence.
"Man" (third person singular) acts as the subject of the sentence.

example:

• Man darf hier rauchen. (You are allowed to smoke here.)
• Man darf hier rauchen. (One is allowed to smoke here.)
• Man darf hier rauchen. (Smoking is allowed here.)

further examples:

• Man sagt, er habe magische Kräfte. (It is said he had magic power.)
• Was isst man in deinem Land zum Frühstück? (What do you have for breakfast in your country?)
• Wo findet man Staubsauger? (Where can one (I) find vacuum cleaner?)

The reflexive verb construction

A lot of verbs which are usually not reflexive are used reflexively as a passive voice substitute.

examples:

• Die Tür öffnet sich langsam. (The door is being opened slowly.)
• Die CD verkauft sich gut. (The CD can be sold easily.)
• Es wird sich eine Lösung finden. (A solution will be found.)

The "sich lassen + Infinitiv" construction

The best translation for the "sich lassen + Invinitiv construction" is: can be (done, made, ... etc.).

examples:

• Die Tür lässt sich leicht öffnen. (The door can be opened easily.)
• Die Fleck lässt sich nicht verstecken. (The spot can't be hidden.)
• Das Auto lässt sich reparieren. (The car can be repaired.)

The "sein + zu + Infinitiv" construction

The "sein + zu + Invinitiv construction" can mean: can be (done, made, ... etc.) or must be (done, made, ... etc.)

examples:

• Die Rechnung ist noch zu bezahlen. (The bill still has to be payed.)
• Das Thema ist leicht zu verstehen. (The topic can be understood easily.)
• Der Antrag ist bis Ende Januar einzureichen. (The application has to be passed by end of January.)

Hint
There are a few more constructions which work as a passive voice substitute
but I don't want to make it too complicate and stop here.

 

	Passiv - Alternativformen 1				Lösung

	Passiv - Alternativformen (theory, 2 pages)