Passive sentences with es and passive alternative forms with man, jemand

Passive voice is a crucial part of German grammar, and it can be confusing for learners. In this lesson, we will explore the use of the passive with "es" as well as alternative structures using "man" and "jemand".

What is Passive?

The passive voice is used to emphasize the action or the result of the action rather than the doer of the action. The general structure of the passive voice is:

• .... + werden + past participle

Example:
"Die Blume wird gegossen."
(The flower is being watered.)

Passive with "es"

When there is no direct object in the accusative case in the active sentence, we use "es" in the passive voice. The verb is then conjugated in the third person.

Examples:

• Active: "Ich helfe ihm (Dativ)."
  Passive: "Es wird ihm geholfen."
  (I help him. → He is helped.)

• Active: "Ich sorge gut für alle Gäste."
  Passive: "Es wird gut für alle Gäste gesorgt."
  (I take good care of all guests. → All guests are well cared for.)

Another case is when the active sentence has "man" as the subject:

• Active: "Man arbeitet."
  Passive: "Es wird gearbeitet."
  (People work. → It is being worked on.)

Passive with "man"

We can also transform a passive sentence into an active sentence with "man" while keeping the passive meaning.

Examples:

• Passive: "Heute wird das Auto (vom Mechaniker) repariert."
  Active: "Heute repariert man das Auto."
  (Today the car is being repaired. → Today, one repairs the car.)

In this case, the agent introduced by "von" + dative is omitted. Also, passive sentences with modal verbs can be rewritten in terms of "man".

• Passive: "Das Paket kann morgen abgeholt werden."
  Active: "Man kann das Paket morgen abholen."
  (The package can be picked up tomorrow. → One can pick up the package tomorrow.)

Passive with "jemand"

Sometimes, the indefinite pronoun "jemand" can be used in place of the passive voice.

Example:

• Passive: "Hier wird ein Haus gebaut."
  Active: "Hier baut jemand ein Haus."
  (A house is being built here. → Someone is building a house here.)

If an action applies to everyone, it's best to use "man" instead.

• Passive: "Hier darf geparkt werden."
  ⇏ Active: "Hier darf jemand parken."
  (Here parking is allowed. → Someone is allowed to park here.)

In this case, we should use "man": "Hier darf man parken."
(Here, one is allowed to park.)