Impersonal passive
C1 · Advanced · Mastery
The rule
Passive without subject: Es wird getanzt.
How it works
The impersonal passive has no subject and uses es as a placeholder: Es wird getanzt (There is dancing), Es wurde viel gelacht (There was a lot of laughing). It is formed with intransitive verbs, which cannot take a direct object in the passive. The word es appears at the start, and the verb stays in second position.
When to use it
Describe an action without a subject with the impersonal passive, such as "Es wird getanzt" (There is dancing).
Use cases
- Describing an event without a subject: Es wird heute viel gearbeitet
- Describing a mood or activity: Es wird gesungen und getanzt
- Describing an ongoing action: Es wird nicht mehr geraucht
Examples
- Hier wird gearbeitet – Work is done here
- Hier wird nicht gespielt. – No playing here.
- Es wurde bis spät in die Nacht diskutiert. – There was discussion until late at night.
- Auf dem Fest wurde viel getrunken. – There was a lot of drinking at the festival.
Common mistake
Adding a subject to an intransitive verb in the passive.
Memory tip
Impersonal passive: Es wird + participle. Used for intransitive verbs.
Read the wider picture in our guide: German Verbs and Word Order: Tenses, Modals and Sentence Structure.