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All German activities

Activities: “How to use the passive voice in German?”

By: Mareen Fuchs

Activity 1: ‘Was für eine Unordnung!’ (What a mess!)

Anna had a great birthday party yesterday, but now it is time to clean up the apartment. What is going to happen with all the things from the party? Look at the pictures and then form sentences in the passive voice using the provided words. Use the present tense.

For example: die Toilette / putzen → Die Toilette wird geputzt.

  1. Das dreckige Geschirr (waschen).

    A drawing of a stack of dirty dishes

  2. Der Müll (rausbringen).

    A drawing of an overflowing trash can.

  3. Die Glasflaschen (recyceln).

    A drawing of a girl sorting recyclables into boxes by type.

  4. Der dreckige Boden (wischen).

    A drawing of a mop and bucket on a wet floor.

  5. Die schmutzige Wäsche (waschen).

    A drawing of a laundry basket overflowing with laundry.

  6. Das Bett (machen).

    A drawing of a single bed.

Activity 2: ‘Der Hausbau’ (The Building of a House)

The following sentences describe the steps required for building a house, from the beginning to the end. Rewrite the sentences in the passive voice.

Tips:

  • Please do not include the agent in your passive sentence.

  • Use the same tense in your passive sentence that you see in the active sentence!

New Vocabulary
beantragen

to apply for

zeichnen

to draw, to sketch

der Bauplan

building plan, blueprint

errichten

to build, to erect

das Dachgerüst

roof frame

der Ziegel

roof tile

die Mauer

wall

verlegen

to place, to lay

fertigstellen

to finish

  1. Das Ehepaar hatte einen Kredit für einen Hausbau bei der Bank beantragt.

  2. Der Architekt zeichnete die Baupläne.

  3. Das Ehepaar hat die Baupläne akzeptiert und der Hausbau hat begonnen.

  4. Zuerst errichtet ein Maurer alle Mauern.

  5. Dann errichten Dachdecker das Dachgerüst und sie legen die Ziegel.

  6. Die Elektriker werden später auch die Kabel verlegen.

  7. Die Bauarbeiter werden das Haus bis Ende des Jahres fertiggestellt haben.

Activity 3: ‘Das Reisetagebuch’ (the travel diary)

Elisabeth and her family are on vacation in Berlin. She is writing about their travels in her diary. Read it and rewrite the sentences in bold in the passive voice. Begin the passive voice sentences with the underlined structure. Be sure to include the agent, and pay attention to the tense and word order.

  • Begin the passive voice sentences with the underlined structure.

  • Be sure to include the agent, and pay attention to the tense and word order.

New Vocabulary
der Flugbegleiter

flight attendant

der Zollbeamte

customs agent

der Page

bellhop

das Trinkgeld

tip

bestellen

to order

der Döner

kebab

köstlich

delicious

besichtigen

to place, to lay

die Sehenswürdigkeit

tourist attraction

Activity 4: ‘Der Frühling ist da!’

Spring is finally here and the Meier family is excited to get their yard and garden ready! But what are these tasks? Look at the to-do list and rewrite the sentences into the passive voice.

  • Keep the tense the same.

  • Keep the word order as similar as you can.

  • Please do NOT include the agent.

New Vocabulary
anbauen

to plant

der Rasen

lawn

mähen

to mow

pflanzen

to plant

rausstellen

to put out

gießen

to water

jagen

to hunt

Activity 5: ‘Eine Restaurantbewertung’ (a restaurant review)

The Schneider family went to the restaurant “Am Schloss” yesterday. They were all so impressed by this restaurant that the mother decided to leave an online review. Read her review and then rewrite the sentences in bold using the impersonal es construction.

  • If a sentence element is underlined, use that element to begin the passive sentence, rather than es.

  • Keep the tense the same.

New Vocabulary
bestellen

to order

köstlich

delicious

das Gericht

dish

verzichten

to forgo

achten auf

to pay attention

mit etwas rechnen

to plan on something

empfehlen

to recommend

Activity 6: ‘Die Bescherung’

It is that time of the year again! Christmas! In Germany, the Christmas tree is typically decorated on Christmas Eve. And that same night children also receive their presents, which is called Bescherung. Miraculously, everything has already been prepared!

This time, we’ll rewrite the passive voice sentences below using the active voice.

  • Start with the impersonal pronoun man.

  • Keep the tense the same!

For example:

Die Geschenke wurden mit Geschenkpapier eingepackt.

→ Man packte die Geschenke mit Geschenkpapier ein.

Now it’s your turn!

  1. Die Geschenke wurden unter den Baum gelegt.

    →

  2. Der Baumschmuck wurde an den Baum gehängt.

    →

  3. Die Lichterketten wurden aufgehängt.

    →

  4. Der Stern wurde auf die Baumspitze gesteckt.

    →

  5. Die Kinder werden dann hereingerufen.

    →

  6. Danach werden die Geschenke ausgepackt.

    →