0

This will probably come too late to help me with my homework, but it might help someone else.

Can someone provide a few examples of sentences using Passiv Präteritum?

I'm going to keep searching for it, but I figured I would throw the question up here first, just in case someone has a quick answer.

(A worksheet wants us to change sentences from one form into another, but they don't provide any examples of the new structure they want! I guess I'll move onto the next section for now -- on Passiv Perfekt -- since they give examples for that form. Then I'll keep searching for Passiv Präteritum examples, posting a link here if I find some.)

Improve this question
3
  • It is a Passiv Präteritum: "Der Apfel wurde gegessen." There is nothing complex in it. Best if you see German like an algorithmical thing. You have a base sentence, and you apply operators for that. You only have to remember the correct ordering of the operators, although they typically can't be applied in uncommon order. It is enough until a strong B2 or C1 level. Over that, only a native speaker can say, what, how sounds, on this level German becomes like the ordinary languages. But you most likely have no intent (well... better to say "chance") to become a German author ever. – peterh Jun 18 '18 at 18:36
  • Note, Germans practically never use more than 2 operators. It is a nice game with them, talking with them in complex sentences with 3 or 4 :-) Z.b. "...weil es nicht aufgebaut werden können hätte", they understand it on the spot, and could also synthetize it, much better as you will be ever able (including secondary meanings and "how it sounds better" things), but they never talk on this way, because somehow at most 2 operator is enough for them. In your case, a passiv + präteritum can yet happen, but for example a passiv + pärteritum + modalverb is already very rare. – peterh Jun 18 '18 at 18:44
  • weil es nicht hätte aufgebaut werden können! (Why? Infinitives last, modals last. And yes, this is written language only … but there, you will find plenty of it.) – Janka Jun 18 '18 at 21:07
1

Active:

Man lehnte meine Frage ab, weil sie nicht passte.

Passive

Meine Frage wurde abgelehnt, weil sie nicht passte.

Improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.