Phillip:	Nenne mir doch bitte die größte Schiffskatastrophe in der Geschichte der Menschheit.
Lisa:	Na klar. Die Titanic. Sowas weiß man doch.
Phillip:	Pffff! Aber auch nicht mal annähernd.
Lisa:	Im Ernst?
Phillip:	Wenn man 100 Leute befragt, wird dir bei dieser Frage von 100 Leuten fälschlicherweise der Name Titanic zugeflüstert. Man verzweifelt!
Lisa:	Heißt das, ich habe mir den Film, wo Kate Winslet mit diesem Jüngelchen rummacht, das gerade mal 12 aussieht, umsonst angeguckt?
Phillip:	Du meinst Leonardo DiCaprio?

I. Recap

The passive voice is a way of highlighting an action done to an object without necessarily references the individual who is completing the action. In this lesson, we will cover passive agents as well as alternatives to the passive voice.

II. Agents with the Passive

Since the passive voice is used to highlight actions, it is not necessary to mention who is doing the action. However, when this information is provided, it is known as the agent. An English example would be: “The documents were stolen.” Here, there is no mention of who is performing this action. Another example would be: “The documents were stolen by the spy.” In this sentence however, we see who performed the action - the passive agent. In German, von or durch are often used in conjunction with the agent.

Das Auto wird von dem Mechaniker repariert. The car is being fixed by the mechanic. Das Haus ist durch einen heftigen Sturm zerstört worden. The house was destroyed by a violent storm. Der Aufsatz wurde von einer Studentin geschrieben. The essay was written by a student. Die Lawine ist durch einen Pistolenschuss verursacht worden. The avalanche was caused by means of a gunshot.

As seen in the samples above, durch is used to convey “by” or “by means of” when the the cause of the action is not voluntary. Von is used more often and conveys that the action was done voluntarily.

III. Alternatives to the Passive Voice

German has other ways of highlighting the action outside of the passive voice. These include:

Man: Using this pronoun, which means “one,” is a frequent way to avoid using the passive voice.

Wie schreibt man das? How it is spelled? / How is it written? Wie sagt man das auf Deutsch? How is it said in German?

Sich lassen: this reflexive verb can also convey a similar meaning to the passive.

Wir haben uns trauen lassen. We were married. Das Problem lässt sich nicht leicht lösen. The problem is not easily solved.

Reflexive verbs: many reflexive verbs can be used to bypass the passive voice.

Das erklärt sich so… This can be explained as follows… Wie schreibt sich Ihr Name? How is your name spelled?