Past passive: wurde and worden

Understand the rule, see it in context, then put it into practice.

67 chapters · 64 common verbs
B1

Past passive: wurde and worden

In Präteritum, use wurde/wurden plus Partizip II. In Perfekt, use ist/sind plus Partizip II plus worden. Passive worden has no ge-; geworden belongs to the full verb werden meaning become.

Understand the idea

A past action can be described with process passive in either Präteritum or Perfekt. The forms differ from each other and from the ordinary full verb werden meaning become. This distinction is particularly visible in worden versus geworden.

Build it step by step

For passive Präteritum, use wurde/wurden plus the participle. For passive Perfekt, use ist/sind plus the lexical participle and worden. The passive form worden has no ge-. In a basic subordinate clause, the finite auxiliary goes at the end of the verbal group.

See it in a sentence

Das Museum wurde 1990 eröffnet.

The museum was opened in 1990.

Die Briefe wurden gestern verschickt.

The letters were sent yesterday.

A useful memory aid

Learn three matching frames: wird gemacht, wurde gemacht, ist gemacht worden. They show tense changes while preserving the passive meaning.

A common trap

Do not substitute geworden for passive worden. Geworden belongs to the full verb werden in meanings such as becoming tired or becoming a teacher.

Sources & how to use this book

Original explanations, tips and learning examples by DeutschLearner, with grammar facts checked against the references below. The A1–B2 labels guide study; they do not certify a proficiency level. Reading a chapter does not mark a topic as mastered. Existing exercises provide the translated examples; no source exercise bank or example sentences were copied.