Quick answer: German has two passive voices. Vorgangspassiv (process passive) is built with werden + Partizip II and emphasizes an action happening. Zustandspassiv (state/statal passive) is built with sein + Partizip II and emphasizes the resulting state after an action is done. Compare: Die Tür wird geöffnet (the door is being opened — a process) vs. Die Tür ist geöffnet (the door is open — a state).
1. The Core Difference
| Vorgangspassiv (Process Passive) | Zustandspassiv (State Passive) | |
|---|---|---|
| Auxiliary verb | werden | sein |
| Focuses on | the action itself | the result / condition |
| Answers | “What is happening?” | “What condition is it in?” |
| Example | Die Tür wird geöffnet. (Someone is opening the door.) | Die Tür ist geöffnet. (The door is open.) |
A simple test: if you can rephrase the sentence with “gerade” (right now) and it still makes sense as an ongoing action, it’s Vorgangspassiv. If it describes a finished result, it’s Zustandspassiv.
2. Vorgangspassiv — Formation Across All Tenses
Formula: werden (conjugated) + Partizip II, with the Partizip II at the end of the clause.
Using the example verb öffnen (to open) with the subject die Tür (the door):
| Tense | Formula | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Präsens | werden + Partizip II | Die Tür wird geöffnet. | The door is being opened. |
| Präteritum | wurde + Partizip II | Die Tür wurde geöffnet. | The door was opened. |
| Perfekt | ist/hat + Partizip II + worden | Die Tür ist geöffnet worden. | The door has been opened. |
| Plusquamperfekt | war/hatte + Partizip II + worden | Die Tür war geöffnet worden. | The door had been opened. |
| Futur I | werden + Partizip II + werden | Die Tür wird geöffnet werden. | The door will be opened. |
Key rule: In Perfekt and Plusquamperfekt, Vorgangspassiv never uses geworden — it uses the special short form worden. This is one of the most common mistakes learners make.
3. Zustandspassiv — Formation Across All Tenses
Formula: sein (conjugated) + Partizip II.
Same example, die Tür:
| Tense | Formula | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Präsens | sein + Partizip II | Die Tür ist geöffnet. | The door is open. |
| Präteritum | war + Partizip II | Die Tür war geöffnet. | The door was open. |
| Perfekt | ist + Partizip II + gewesen | Die Tür ist geöffnet gewesen. | The door has been open. |
| Plusquamperfekt | war + Partizip II + gewesen | Die Tür war geöffnet gewesen. | The door had been open. |
| Futur I | wird + Partizip II + sein | Die Tür wird geöffnet sein. | The door will be open. |
Important: In practice, Zustandspassiv is used almost exclusively in Präsens and Präteritum. Perfekt, Plusquamperfekt, and Futur are grammatically possible — the table above is correct — but native speakers rarely use them; they sound formal or even a little awkward, and are far more common in grammar references than in everyday speech.
4. Side-by-Side: “worden” vs. “gewesen”
This is the single biggest source of confusion, so it’s worth isolating:
- Vorgangspassiv → Perfekt/Plusquamperfekt always ends in “worden.” Die Tür ist geöffnet worden.
- Zustandspassiv → Perfekt/Plusquamperfekt always ends in “gewesen.” Die Tür ist geöffnet gewesen.
The logic: Zustandspassiv is fundamentally a form of sein + participle, and sein‘s own Partizip II is gewesen — so when Zustandspassiv itself moves into the Perfekt tense, it inherits gewesen. Vorgangspassiv, by contrast, uses the reduced participle form worden instead of geworden specifically inside passive constructions.
5. A Second Example: “eine Entscheidung fällen” (to make a decision)
Tense tables are easier to internalize with more than one verb. Here’s a very common textbook example — fällen (to make/reach, used with Entscheidung):
| Vorgangspassiv | Zustandspassiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Präsens | Die Entscheidung wird gefällt. (The decision is being made.) | Die Entscheidung ist gefällt. (The decision is made.) |
| Präteritum | Die Entscheidung wurde gefällt. | Die Entscheidung war gefällt. |
| Perfekt | Die Entscheidung ist gefällt worden. | Die Entscheidung ist gefällt gewesen. |
6. Passive with Modal Verbs
Both types can combine with modal verbs, though Zustandspassiv + modal is less common:
- Vorgangspassiv + modal: Die Tür muss geöffnet werden. (The door must be opened.)
- Zustandspassiv + modal: Die Tür muss geöffnet sein. (The door must be [in a state of being] open.) — used when you’re stating a required condition, e.g., before an inspection.
7. When to Actually Use Each One
- Use Vorgangspassiv for almost everything: news, instructions, describing actions, formal writing. It’s the “default” German passive.
- Use Zustandspassiv only when you specifically want to describe a resulting condition rather than the action that caused it — and stick to Präsens/Präteritum in normal writing and speech.
- If you’re unsure which one fits, ask: am I describing an event, or a condition? Event → Vorgangspassiv. Condition → Zustandspassiv.
FAQ
What is the difference between Zustandspassiv and Vorgangspassiv? Vorgangspassiv (with werden) describes an action in progress; Zustandspassiv (with sein) describes the state that results from a completed action.
What is “statal passive” in German? “Statal passive” is the English term for Zustandspassiv — the passive voice formed with sein + Partizip II that describes a resulting state.
How do you form Zustandspassiv in the Perfekt tense? sein (conjugated) + Partizip II + gewesen — e.g., Die Tür ist geöffnet gewesen. This form exists but is rarely used in everyday German.
How do you form Zustandspassiv in the Präteritum? war + Partizip II — e.g., Die Tür war geöffnet. (The door was open.) This is the most common past-tense form of Zustandspassiv.
Why does Vorgangspassiv use “worden” instead of “geworden” in the Perfekt? Because German uses a special reduced participle, worden, specifically inside passive constructions in the Perfekt and Plusquamperfekt — using geworden here is a very common learner mistake.
Final Thoughts
Once you see Vorgangspassiv and Zustandspassiv side by side across the same tenses, the pattern becomes much easier to remember: werden = action, sein = result, and the Perfekt tense simply tells you which one you’re dealing with by whether it ends in worden or gewesen.
Next step: Solidify your understanding of the Partizip II itself — check out our guide on Partizip Perfekt to review how past participles are formed for both regular and irregular verbs.
