The event passive (Vorgangspassiv) is used in German to describe an action or process that is happening, has happened, or will happen. The focus lies on the event itself, not on the person performing the action. The event passive is formed with the auxiliary verb werden and a past participle and can be used in different tenses.
In this guide, you will learn:
what the event passive is and how it differs from other passive forms
how the event passive is formed with werden
when the event passive is preferred in formal and neutral contexts
common learner mistakes when choosing between event passive and active voice
This guide helps English-speaking learners understand the event passive as an action-focused structure used to describe processes, changes, and events in German.