How to use the statal passive voice in German?
The German statal passive is used to describe the result of a completed action. Unlike when we use the “classic” German passive (the processual passive), it really does not matter when or how the action itself happened, just that it did happen and now something is in a certain state or situation as a result.
For example, imagine you’ve been waiting and waiting for dinner, then I walk in and present you with the finished food. I might use the statal passive to say:
- statal passive
Das Schnitzel mit Kartoffelsalat ist gekocht.
The schnitzel with potato salad is cooked.
→ Why the statal? Because you really just care about the result of the action: yummy schnitzel! We’re not thinking about the process of cooking it.
In this post, we’ll take you through how to form and use the statal passive in German. We’ll also compare its use and form to the more “classic” processual passive. Let’s have a look!
Table of Contents
What is the statal passive in German?
In German, the statal passive describes the result of a completed action. In other words it describes the state of something or of the world in general after an action has been completed. It has two forms: the adverbial form (which is the most “classic” form of the statal passive) and the attributive form.
What is the adverbial form of statal passive in German?
When we talk about the statal passive in German we are usually referring to the adverbial form of the statal passive. This is formed by combining the auxiliary verbNo definition set for auxiliary verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. sein(be) with the past participle of the main verbNo definition set for main verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. Let’s go back to the kitchen to look at some examples:
Das Wasser ist gesalzen.
The water is salted.
Die Kartoffeln sind gekocht.
The potatoes are cooked.
The statal passive only exists in three tenses as you can see in the following table:
Tense | Formula |
|---|---|
Present | sein past participle Der Kartoffelsalat ist zubereitet. The potato salad is prepared. |
Past | sein past participle Der Kartoffelsalat was zubereitet. The potato salad was prepared. |
Future | werden past participle sein Der Kartoffelsalat wird zerberitet sein. The potato salad will be prepared. |
Good news! The most common tenses are the present and the past tenses. The future tense is rarely used.
What is the attributive form of statal passive in German?
When a past participle is used as an adjective before a noun, this is sometimes called the attributive form of the statal passive. Like the adverbial form, the past participle describes the state of a noun after an action has been completed. For example:
Die geschälten Kartoffeln sind in der Schüssel.
The peeled potatoes are in the bowl.
Der zubereitete Kartoffelsalat ist köstlich.
The prepared potato salad is delicious.
Did you notice that the past participles have adjective endings? If you are eager to learn about why that is, you can read our post about past participles in German!
Processual passive vs. statal passive: What are the differences in structure?
The main difference between the structure of the “classic” processual passive and the statal passive is the form of the auxiliary verb. Compare:
Processual passive (werden) | Statal passive(sein) |
|---|---|
Die Schnitzel werden gewürzt. The schnitzels are (being) seasoned. → Focus is on the action itself, the process of seasoning the schnitzel. | Die Schnitzel sind gewürzt. The schnitzels are seasoned. → Focus is on the result of the action, the state of the schnitzel. |
Die Schnitzel werden paniert. The Schnitzels are (being) breaded. → Focus is on the action itself, the process of breading the schnitzel. | Die Schnitzel sind paniert. The Schnitzels are breaded. → Focus is on the result of the action, these are breaded schnitzel not un-breaded ones. |
Die Pfanne wurde erhitzt. The pan was (being) warmed up. → Focus is on the action itself, the process of warming the pan, and how and when we did that. | Die Pfanne war erhitzt. The pan was warmed up. → Focus is on the result of the action, its meaning is much like “the pan is hot.” |
Summary
Content paragraph goes here
The statal passive describes the result state of a completed action and has two forms:
The adverbial form → sein + past participle
(This is usually what we’re talking about when we talk about the statal passive.)
The attributive form → the past participle used as an adjective.
The main difference in structure between the statal passive and the processual passive is that they use different auxiliary verbs: werden for processual passives and sein for statal passives.
Want to practice using the processual passive? Check out our German statal passive exercises. Or, if you want, you could review the forms of sein using our German passive reference sheet.
