Two passives, one rule each.

German has two passive constructions. Vorgangspassiv (werden + Partizip II) describes an ongoing or completed process: "Die Tür wird geöffnet" (the door is being opened). Zustandspassiv (sein + Partizip II) describes the resulting state: "Die Tür ist geöffnet" (the door is open). English collapses both into one passive ("is/was opened"), so the distinction surprises English speakers. In Vorgangspassiv the auxiliary werden carries all tense and agreement; in Zustandspassiv the Partizip II functions like a predicate adjective.

Vorgangspassiv focuses on the action itself: "Die Tür wird geschlossen" means someone is in the act of closing it right now. Zustandspassiv focuses on the result: "Die Tür ist geschlossen" means it is already closed — the closing already happened. Both use the same Partizip II, so choosing the wrong auxiliary is one of the most common B1-marker errors. As a test: can you substitute "being" in English? If yes, use werden (Vorgangspassiv). If the sentence describes a resulting state, use sein (Zustandspassiv).

When werden serves as the passive auxiliary, its Partizip II is worden — the ge- prefix is dropped. When werden is a main verb meaning "to become", its Partizip II is geworden (with ge-). Compare: "Er ist Arzt geworden" (he became a doctor — main verb) vs "Er ist gelobt worden" (he was praised — passive auxiliary). This is one of the top three B1 writing errors. A simple memory check: if two Partizip II forms appear at the end of the clause, the second one is worden, not geworden.

Use von (+ Dativ) for personal, animate, or intentional agents: "Das Buch wird vom Lehrer gelesen" (the book is being read by the teacher). Use durch (+ Akkusativ) for means, causes, or impersonal forces: "Das Haus wurde durch den Sturm zerstört" (the house was destroyed by the storm). Both translate to English "by", but von implies an actor who chose to act while durch implies a mediating instrument or force. The agent phrase is always optional — omitting it is very common in German passive.

In spoken and informal German, man + Aktiv is far more natural than passive. "Man kauft das Brot beim Bäcker" feels native; "Das Brot wird beim Bäcker gekauft" sounds stiff or bureaucratic in speech. Reserve passive for formal writing, technical instructions, academic text, and B1 Schreiben Teil 2 (formal letter tasks). A good rule: if you would say it out loud in casual conversation, use man instead.

Four main alternatives carry passive-like meaning without using passive voice. First, man + Aktiv: "Man öffnet die Tür" instead of "Die Tür wird geöffnet" — most common in speech. Second, sich-lassen + Infinitiv: "Das lässt sich machen" = that can be done — expresses possibility. Third, sein + zu + Infinitiv: "Das ist zu machen" = that has to/can be done — formal register, common in writing. Fourth, reflexive quasi-passive: "Das Buch verkauft sich gut" = the book sells well — limited to specific verbs, best learned as fixed expressions.

Yes, but the dative object stays in the dative — it does NOT become the nominative subject. Instead, the sentence uses an impersonal subject es or, more commonly, places the dative phrase in position 1: "Man hilft mir" becomes "Mir wird geholfen" (I am being helped — literally "to me it is being helped"). The form "Ich werde geholfen" is ungrammatical. Verbs that take only dative objects (helfen, danken, glauben, folgen) can only form impersonal passives. This surprises English speakers who expect a normal subject-passive pattern.

Yes. Productive use of Vorgangspassiv in present and past tenses is a stated B1 writing competency; the Goethe B1 Schreiben Teil 2 (formal letter) frequently requires passive constructions. Receptive comprehension of all six passive tenses is needed for reading. At a minimum, master: "wird gemacht" (Präsens), "wurde gemacht" (Präteritum), "ist gemacht worden" (Perfekt), "muss gemacht werden" (modal-passive). These four cover roughly 90 percent of exam-relevant passive usage.