(For Horne Study) A. I. In units 12 and 14 we noted the occurrence of past participles in verb phrases with the auxiliary verbs haben and sein. a nuffiber of sentences in which past participles occur with various forms of the auxiliary verb werden: Warum ~ er dann ''Tiergarten'' genannt? Wurde es im Krieg zerstört? The phrase consisting of a form of the auxiliary verb werden and a past participle is called the PASSIVE PHRASE. 402
VERBS. THE PASSIVE PHRASE. In this unit we have encountered Why is it called "animal garden" then? Was it destroyed during the war? VI ERHUNDERTZWE I
11. The PASSIVE PHRASE is not restricted to a particular time of action as are the perfect and pluperfect phrases, which always refer to past time. Passive phrases may refer to present, past or future time. They differ from the actor-action-goal, or subject-verb-object pattern familiar to us in that the subject itself is in most cases the goal of action, the person or thing acted upon.
Die Koffer werden morgen zur Gepäckaufgabe gebracht werden.
The suitcases will be taken to the baggage checkroom tomorrow.
Das Reichstagsgebäude wurde vor dem Kriege zerstört.
The parliament building was destroyed before the war.
Der Bericht wird gerade geschrieben.
The report is just being written.
111. In a PASSIVE PHRASE the AGENT or INSTRUMENT responsible for the action may or may not be indicated. In the sentences above it is not. We read only that the action occurred, is occurring or will occur. INSTRUMENT may however be expressed:
The AGENT or
Der Bericht wird gerade von dem Betriebsleiter geschrieben.
The report is just being written by the plant manager.
Das Reichstagsgebäude wurde durch den berüchtigten Reichstagsbrand vor dem Kriege zerstört.
The parliament building was destroyed by the notorious Reichstag fire before the war.
Die Koffer werden morgen von den Männern zur Gepäckaufgabe gebracht werden.
The suitcases will be taken to the baggage checkroom by the men tomorrow.
Note that German usually introduces the AGENT, or person responsible for the action by the preposition ~, always followed by a dative form. The INSTRUMENT, the non-personal cause or instigator of the action, is introduced by the preposition durch, which is always followed by an accusative form.
IV. Reference to present, past or future time is indicated by the form of the PASSIVE AUXILIARY werden. Since werden is also the future auxiliary it is necessary to distinguish carefully between the two. Whenever a form of werden occurs with a past participle the implication is first of all passive. Remember, however, that Germans orten use the present to talk about the future, and a passive phrase with a present tense form of werden may refer either to present or future time, depending on the context. A phrase in which a form of werden occurs twice refers of course only to future time.
Das Gepäck wird gerade ~ holt.
The baggage is just being picked up.
Das Gepäck wird nächste Woche abgeholt.
The baggage is going to be picked up next week.
Das Gepäck wird sicher ~ holt werden.
The baggage will certainly be picked up.
Reference to past time may be indicated either by the simple past form ~ , as we have seen above, or by a perfect (or pluperfect) phrase.
Ist die Kirche im Kriege 50 stark beschädigt worden?
Was the church damaged this badly during the war?
Die Wohnhäuser in diesem Viertel sind von bekannten Architekten entworfen worden.
The apartment houses in this section were designed by famous architects.
Notice the special past participle form of the passive auxiliary, worden. When the verb werden is not functioning as the passive auxiliary, its past participle is geworden.
Jetzt ist es wieder kühler geworden.
Now it has become cooler.
Seine Frau ist Amerikanerin geworden.
His wife has become an American [citizen].
A perfect phrase with werden ALWAYS
has the auxiliary verb sein, however.
V. A number of German verbs occur with a dative indirect object or complement. The dative form remains when these verbs occur in PASSIVE PHRASES. In many cases no nominative subject form occurs at all.
Mir wurde gesagt, dass er ein guter Tennisspieler ist.
I was told that he's a good tennis player.
Ihm konnte nicht geholfen werden.
He could not be helped.
Den Kindern ist nicht geglaubt worden.
The children were not believed.
VI. The PASSIVE PHRASE is often introduced by es in German. Sometimes it is followed by a true grammatical subject, sometimes not, and in some cases no subject at all appears in the sentence. The PASSIVE PHRASE then merely indicates that some action is going on.
Es wird "Die Zauberflöte" von Mozart gespielt.
Mozart's "Magic Flute" is playing.
Es wurde viel geredet.
There was a lot of talking.
Es wird dort schwer gearbeitet.
People work hard there.
Da wurde gegessen und getrunken bis spät in die Nacht.
There was eating and drinking far into the night.
Dann wurde ausgepackt und eingerichtet und saubergemacht.
Then things were unpacked and furniture was arranged and the cleaning up was done.
B. THE INFINITIVE PHRASE WITH sein
I. The INFINITIVE PHRASE after the verb sein follows the pattern outlined and described in unit 14. It has a special implication however.
Die Lindenbaume sind noch auf alten Bildern zu sehen.
The linden trees still can be seen in old pictures. (' ... are still to be seen ... ')
Danach ist ein Bericht ~ schreiben.
After that areport is to be written. (' ... must be written ... ')
Heute abend ist im Geschäft noch viel zu tun.
There's still a lot to be done in the store tonight.
The infinitive with ~ occurs after the verb sein in German where a passive phrase is used in English. This construction often implies possibility, necessity or obligation, Le., something "can, must or ought to" be done.
C. THE INDEFINITE PRONOUN man
I. We have encountered a number of sentences in which the word man "one, you" occurs.
Wie sagt man "good bye" auf deutsch?
How do you say "good bye" in German?
Von diesem Tisch aus hat man eine schöne Aussicht.
There's a beautiful view from this table.('You have a beautiful view ... ').
The construction with man occurs frequently in German, although American English only rarely uses the indefinite pronoun "one". We generally prefer to say "we", ''yOU'' or "they".
11. Other forms of the indefinite pronoun also occur in German:
Dann fällt es einem ein, dass man noch zur Bank muss.
Then one remembers that one still has to go to the bank.
Die Beamten fragen einen immer, ob man Kaffee oder Zigaretten bei sich hat.
The officials always ask you if you have coffee or cigarettes with you.
Man kann seine Hemden dort aufbügeln lassen.
You can get your shirts pressed there. ('One can get one's ... ')
The dative and accusative forms of the indefinite pronoun are einem einen; the possessive word is sein.
and
111. Note that Germans consistently use a form of the indefinite pronoun to refer back to an indefinite pronoun antecedent.
Man wird oft von den Beamten gefragt, 09 man Zigaretten bei sich hat.
One is often asked by the officials if he has cigarettes with him.
IV. The German construction with ~ is often equivalent to and interchangeable with the PASSIVE PHRASE, when no specific agent or instrument is indicated.
Die hat man vor dem Kriege entfernt.
Die sind vor dem Kriege entfernt worden.
Warum nennt man diesen Park "Tiergarten "?
Warum wird dieser Park "Tiergarten" genannt?
Man sagt, dass Kurfürst Joachim 11. hier zu seiner Geliebten ritt.
Es wird gesagt, dass Kurfürst Joachim 11. hier zu seiner Geliebten ritt.
D. PLACE NAMES AS MODIFIERS
I. Place names in English can be used to modify following nouns in such phrases as "the New York telephone directory", "The Washington Post", "his Coonecticut home", etc. The proper name does not change its form or spelling when used in this way.
11. Some German place names have a special form when they occur in a phrase modifying a noun: Das Brandenburger Tor muss man ja gesehen haben.
Abenteuerlust und Unternehmungsgeist lagen schon immer in der Berliner Luft. Ich halte die "Frankfurter Allgemeine".
Ich trinke lieber WUrzburger (Bier).
Mir gefallen die Schwarzwälder Häuser.
Ich halte eine Münchner Zeitung.
Er hat in einem Bremer Geschäft gearbeitet.
Notice that the above place names used as modifiers all have a suffix -~ and sometimes umlaut of the stern vowel but have no endinqs. A few are irregular in formation (Münchner, Bremer). Notice also that most of them are city names, although some names of larger districts (Schwarzwald) are also used as modifiers in this way. This special modifier form is not to be confused with the adjectives deutsch, franzBsisch, bayrisch, englisch, amerikanisch, etc., which are not capitalized in the writing system and which may all occur with adjective endings. The following place names which have occurred in our text can be used as modifiers with the suffix -er.
They are capitalized in the writing system.
Berlin Bremerhaven Garmisch
Schwabing Schweiz Tölz Wiesbaden
E. PREPOSITIONS: diesseits, jenseits
I. In this unit two new prepositions have occurred, diesseits and jenseits. They are normally followed by GENITIVE forms.
Das Reichstagsgebäude ist doch diesseits des Brandenburger Tores, nicht wahr?
The parliament building is on this side of the Brandenburg Gate, isn't it?
BASIC COURSE GERMAN _ _ _ _ _ _ _U.=..:..:NIT 15
Jenseits der Alpen ist es wärmer als hier.
On the other side of the Alps it's warmer than it is here.
11. a dative phrase or the form davon.
Diesseits and jenseits may also be followed by the preposition von and
Jenseits davon beginnt die Strasse Unter den Linden.
On the other side of it the street 'Unter den Linden' begins.
Das Hansaviertel ist diesseits vom Tiergarten.
The 'Hansaviertel' is this side of the 'Tiergarten'.
Note that these forms occur principally with geographie names.