Basic Grammar English

Inhaltsangabe  Table of Contents

1.	Phonetik (Lautschrift)	Phonetics (Phonetic Script)
2.	Unregelm��ige Verben	Irregular Verbs
3.	Die Zeiten	The Tenses
4.	Signalw�rter f�r Zeiten	Signal Words for Tenses
5.	Special: Present Perfect	Special: Present Perfect
6.	Hilfsverben	Auxiliary Verbs
7.	Verneinungen (to DO)	Negations (to DO)
8.	Fragen stellen	Asking Questions
9.	Satztypen	Types of Sentences
10.	Verlaufsform	Continuous (Progressive) Form
11.	Special: Future	Special: Future
12.	Aktiv und Passiv	Active and Passive Voice
13.	Zeiten: Normal- u. Verlaufs-form (Aktiv und Passiv)	Tenses: Simple & Continuous Form (Active & Passive Voice)
14.	�bersetzung (mit Checkliste)	Translation (with Checklist)
15.	Struktur von S�tzen	Structure of Sentences
16.	Relativs�tze	Relative Clauses
17.	Partizipien	Participles
18.	Das Gerundium	The Gerund
19.	Auslassungss�tze	Ellipsis
20.	Fragen zum Text/ Kommentar/ Geleitete Interpretation	Questions on the text/ Comment/ Guided Interpretation
21.	Special: S	Special: S
22.	Special: Y	Special: Y
23.	Artikel	Articles
24.	Adjektive und Adverbien	Adjectives and Adverbs
25.	Indirekte Rede	Reported Speech
26.	Bedingungss�tze (if- S�tze)	Conditional Clauses (if- clauses)
	Spezielle Grammatikb�cher	Special Grammar Books

1.Phonetics (Phonetic Script)

Hardly any other language is more difficult than English, as far as pronunciation is concerned !

If there�s nobody around to tell you how to pronounce unknown words: learn the signs of the International Phonetic Script Association (API) (there are not too many unknown signs)

reason for extra signs:

there are more sounds in English than there are letters in the alphabet !

2. Irregular Verbs

The main part of grammar is about tenses ! In order to form them you need

the 3 verb forms. Fortunately most verbs are regular

(2^nd and 3^rd form: -ed);

unfortunately the most important and most often used verbs are irregular !

Irregular Verbs	Translations
be, was/were, been	sein; werden (Passiv)
bear, bore, borne	ertragen, aushalten
beat, beat, beaten	schlagen
become, became, become	werden (Zustands�nderung, Beruf, etc.)
begin, began, begun	beginnen, anfangen
bend, bent, bent	biegen
bet, bet, bet /betted	wetten
bid, bid, bid	bieten (Versteigerung); bid (farewell): bade/bid, bidden
bind, bound, bound	binden
bite, bit, bitten	bei�en
bleed, bled, bled	bluten
blow, blew, blown	blasen; wehen; putzen (Nase)
break, broke, broken	brechen
breed, bred, bred	(aus)br�ten; z�chten
bring, brought, brought	(her)bringen
build, built, built	bauen
burn, burnt, burnt (burned, esp.US)	(ver)brennen
burst, burst, burst	bersten, platzen
bust, bust, bust (busted)	kaputtmachen
buy, bought, bought	kaufen
cast, cast, cast	werfen
catch, caught, caught	fangen
choose, chose, chosen	(aus)w�hlen
cling, clung, clung (to)	festhalten (an)
come, came, come	kommen
cost, cost, cost	kosten
creep, crept, crept	kriechen; schleichen
cut, cut, cut	schneiden
deal, dealt, dealt	handeln; deal with: sich besch�ftigen mit, handeln von; deal in: handeln mit
dig, dug, dug	graben
dive, dove, dived (irregular only US)	ins Wasser springen; (unter)tauchen
do, did, done	tun; machen
draw, drew, drawn	ziehen; zeichnen
dream, dreamt, dreamt (dreamed, esp. US)	tr�umen
drink, drank, drunk	trinken
drive, drove, driven	(an)treiben; fahren (selbst, ein Fahrzeug)
dwell, dwelt, dwelt (dwelled)	wohnen
eat, ate, eaten	essen; fressen
fall, fell, fallen	fallen
feed, fed, fed	f�ttern; s. ern�hren
feel, felt, felt	(s.) f�hlen
fight, fought, fought	k�mpfen
fit, fit, fit (irregular only US)	passen
find, found, found	finden
flee, fled, fled	fliehen, fl�chten
fly, flew, flown	fliegen
forbid, forbad(e), forbidden	verbieten
forget, forgot, forgotten	vergessen
freeze, froze, frozen	frieren
get, got, got/ gotten (only US)	bekommen; gelangen; holen; werden
give, gave, given	geben; schenken
go, went, gone	gehen; (mit)fahren
grind, ground, ground	schleifen; mahlen
grow, grew, grown	wachsen; anbauen (Feld, Garten)
hang, hung, hung	(auf)h�ngen (Strafe: hanged, hanged)
have, had, had	haben; (etw.) essen; trinken
hear, heard, heard	h�ren (zuf�llig, automatisch)
hide, hid, hid(den)	verstecken
hit, hit, hit	schlagen; treffen
hold, held, held	halten
hurt, hurt, hurt	verletzen; weh tun
keep, kept, kept	(be)halten (Tiere; Versprechen; Mund)
kneel, knelt, knelt  (kneeled, esp. US)	knien
knit, knit, knit (knitted)	stricken
know, knew, known	wissen; kennen
lay, laid, laid	legen; (lay the table= Tisch decken)
lead, led, led	f�hren, leiten
lean, leant, leant (leaned, esp. US)	lehnen
leap, leapt, leapt (leaped)	springen
learn, learnt, learnt (learned, esp. US)	lernen; erfahren (geh�rt, gelesen)
leave, left, left	(ver-, zur�ck-) lassen; weggehen; abfahren
lend, lent, lent	(ver)leihen
let, let; let	(etwas) (zu)lassen
lie, lay, lain, (lie, lied, lied = l�gen !)	liegen
light, lit, lit (lighted)	anz�nden; erleuchten
lose, lost, lost	verlieren
make, made, made	machen; herstellen (Made in Germany)
mean, meant, meant	bedeuten; meinen (sagen wollen)
meet, met, met	treffen; kennenlernen
mow, mowed, mown (mowed)	m�hen
pay, paid, paid	bezahlen
plead, pled, pled (irregular esp. US)	pl�dieren
prove, proved, proved/proven (US)
put, put, put	setzen; stellen; legen
quit, quit, quit (irregular only US)	aufgeben, aufh�ren, abhauen
read, read, read	lesen
ride, rode, ridden	reiten; fahren (Zweirad, Auto)
ring, rang, rung	klingeln; anrufen (Telefon)
rise, rose, risen	(an)steigen; sich erheben; aufgehen (Sonne)
run, ran, run	laufen, rennen
saw, sawed, sawn (sawed, US)	s�gen
say, said, said	sagen
see, saw, seen	sehen (zuf�llig, automatisch)
seek, sought, sought	suchen
sell, sold, sold	verkaufen
send, sent, sent	(�ber-, ver-) senden, (ver-) schicken
set, set, set	(ein)stellen (Wecker)
sew, sewed, sewn (sewed)	n�hen
shake, shook, shaken	sch�tteln
shave, shaved, shaved/ shaven	rasieren
shear, sheared, sheared/ shorn	scheren (Schaf)
shed, shed, shed	vergie�en (z. B. Blut)
shine, shone, shone	scheinen; putzen (z. B. Schuhe): 2x shined
shit, shit/shat, shit/shat	schei�en
shoot, shot, shot	schie�en
show, showed, shown (showed)	zeigen
shrink, shrank/shrunk, shrunk	schrumpfen
shut, shut, shut	schlie�en; (shut up: die Klappe halten)
sing, sang, sung	singen
sink, sank/sunk, sunk	sinken
sit, sat, sat	sitzen
slay, slew, slain	erschlagen
sleep, slept, slept	schlafen
slide, slid, slid	gleiten
sling, slung, slung	schlingen
slit, slit, slit	schlitzen
smell, smelt, smelt (smelled, esp. US)	riechen, stinken
sow, sowed, sowed/sown	s�en
speak, spoke, spoken	sprechen
speed, sped, sped (speeded)	eilen, rasen
spell, spelt, spelt (spelled, esp. US)	buchstabieren
spend, spent, spent	verbringen (z.B. Ferien); ausgeben (z.B.Geld)
spill, spilt, spilt (spilled, esp. US)	versch�tten
spin, spun, spun	sich drehen; spinnen (Garn)
spit, spat, spat (US: spit)	spucken
split, split, split	spalten
spoil, spoilt, spoilt (spoiled, esp. US)	verderben; verziehen (Kind)
spread, spread, spread	(s.) aus-, verbreiten
spring, sprang/sprung, sprung	springen
stand, stood, stood	stehen; (stand up: aufstehen vom Stuhl, etc.)
steal, stole, stolen	stehlen
stick, stuck, stuck	kleben; (an)haften (vgl. Sticker)
sting, stung, stung	stechen (Insekt)
stink, stank/stunk, stunk	stinken, �bel riechen
strike, struck, struck	schlagen
string, strung, strung	mit Saiten bespannen
strive, strove, striven	s. bem�hen, anstrengen
swear, swore, sworn	schw�ren; fluchen
sweat, sweat, sweat (sweated)	schwitzen (vgl. Sweatshirt)
sweep, swept, swept	kehren, fegen
swell, swelled, swollen (swelled)	(an- )schwellen
swim, swam, swum	schwimmen
swing, swung, swung	schwingen
take, took, taken	nehmen; (hin-, weg-) bringen
teach, taught, taught	lehren, unterrichten
tear, tore, torn	zerrei�en
tell, told, told	erz�hlen
think, thought, thought	denken; meinen
throw, threw, thrown	werfen
thrust, thrust, thrust	(weg-, hin)schleudern
tread, trod, trodden	treten; gehen
wake, woke, woken (US also: waked)	(auf)wecken; (auf)wachen
wear, wore, worn	tragen (Kleider)
weave, wove, woven	weben
wed, wed, wed (wedded)	heiraten
weep, wept, wept	weinen
wet, wet, wet (only US)	nass machen
win, won, won	gewinnen, siegen
wind, wound, wound	(s.) winden
wring, wrung, wrung	(aus-) wringen
write, wrote, written	schreiben
prefixes: a-/ broad-/  for / fore-/ mis-/ over-/ re-/ un-/ under-/ up-/  with-	see verbs without prefixes

There are 3 basic tenses,

each of them has its perfect tense; so that�s 6 tenses !

(if you replace will by would you may call it Conditional Tense - you may as well replace will by can, could, etc -

thus, of course, changing the meaning of the sentence !)

PAST		PRESENT		FUTURE
					I hope we will be together for ever.
				We will have been married for 7 years next August.	Simple Future
			Every day people get married or divorced.	Future Perfect
		I have just told you, we have been married since 1993.	Simple Present
	We got married on August, 1993.	Present Perfect
We had lived together for 3 years before we got married.	Simple Past
Past Perfect

4.Signal Words for Tenses

Signal Words can help you

use the correct tense

Simple PAST	Simple PRESENT	Simple FUTURE
I went to Paris last year. Last year I went to Paris.	Every day he goes to school. He goes to school every day.	Next week we will try to win. We will try to win next week.
Yesterday I went to Hanau. I went to Hanau yesterday.	He always/ usually/ often/ frequently/ sometimes/ seldom/ never goes to football matches.	Tomorrow we will try to win. We will try to win tomorrow.
Three days ago I went to Oy. I went to Oy three days ago.	Sometimes/ Once in a while he goes to a pub.	In (the) future we will try to win more games. We will try to win more games in (the) future.
	He goes to a pub sometimes/ once in a while.	We will go to London in the near future/ soon.
	Occasionally he goes to a pub.	This evening/ Tonight we�ll watch TV. We�ll watch TV this evening/ tonight.
(I went to Oy in June.) (I went to Oy on June 27th.)	(He goes to ... regularly.) (He goes to ... on Sundays.)	(We hope/ believe you will come!)
PAST Perfect	PRESENT Perfect	FUTURE Perfect
Before that happened/ Up to that time/ Until he had that accident, he had been a very happy person. He had been a very happy person before that happened/ up to that time/ until he had that accident.	I haven�t seen him this week/ today. This week/ Today I haven�t seen him (yet).	By 5: 30 p.m./ By the end of the week/ By next Tuesday evening I will have finished it. I will have finished it by 5: 30 p.m./ .by the end of the week/ by next Tuesday evening.
A long time before he had met him for the first time. He had met him for the first time a long time before.	I have worked here for more than 20 years. For more than 20 years I have worked here.
	I have worked here since 1977. Since 1977 I have worked here.
	Have you ever done it? Have you done it yet? Yes, I have already done it. No, I have not done it yet. No, I still haven�t done it. (No, I� ve never done it.)
	Up to now/ So far/ until now/ As yet I have written 24 pages.
	I� ve written 24 pages up to now/ so far/ until now/ as yet.
	He has just left the house.

5.Special: Present Perfect

abused by English speaking people - misused by foreigners:

a special on the most difficult tense for German learners

Simple PAST	Simple PRESENT	Simple FUTURE
PAST Perfect	PRESENT Perfect	FUTURE Perfect
	have/has + 3rd form (past participle)

Anwendungsf�lle:

Beispiels�tze:

1. gerade eben passiert (just)	1. I have just called him.
2. irgendwann einmal (ever; never)	2. Have you ever been to Rome? I� ve never been to Rome.
3. bisher schon einmal (up to now/ as yet)	3. Up to now I�ve met him twice.
4. seit (since; for)*	4. I have known him since 1989. I have known him for 8 years (now).

* Zeitpunkt: since: since August; since 9 o� clock

                      Zeitraum: for: for 3 hours; for 5 years

6.Auxiliary Verbs

Help ! - You need help ?

There are helping verbs

(but they call them �auxiliary verbs�)

Auxiliary Verbs modify

the following ordinary verb

full auxiliary verbs	meaning as an ordinary verb	use as an auxiliary verb
to be, was/ were, been	sein; u.v.a.m. (in Wendungen)	Continuous Form (+ -ing) (---) Passive Voice (+ 3. Form) (werden)
to do, did, done	tun, machen; u.v.a.m. (in Wendungen)	Questions (---) Negations (---) Short Answers (---) Question Tags (nicht wahr ?) Special cases
to have, had, had	haben, besitzen; u.v.a.m. (in Wendungen)	Perfect Tenses (haben; sein)

defective auxiliary verbs	translation	substitutes
must (mustn�t= darf nicht )	muss, musst, m�ssen, m�sst	to have to
can (*could)	kann, kannst, k�nnen, k�nnt	to be able to
could	k�nnte, k�nntest, k�nnten, k�nntet	---
shall (*should)	soll, sollst, sollen, sollt; (angeblich)	to be to; to be said to
should	sollte, solltest, sollten, solltet	---
will (*would)	werde, wirst, wird, werden, werdet	be going to
would	w�rde, w�rdest, w�rden, w�rdet	---
may (might)	darf/ kann, darfst/ kannst, d�rfen/ k�nnen, d�rft/ k�nnt (eventuell, vielleicht)	to be allowed to (nur f�r d�rfen)
might	d�rfte/ k�nnte, d�rftest/ k�nntest, d�rften/ k�nnten, d�rftet/ k�nntet	---
ought to (= should)	sollte, solltest, sollten, solltet	to be to
needn�t	brauche/ muss, brauchst/ musst, braucht/ muss, brauchen/ m�ssen nicht	not to have to

7.Negations

�to do� as an auxiliary verb

You should say, �No !� once in a while - it improves your position ! But you must do it the way the Hessians do it:

H:�Worum dust dann du des alles uffschreiwe ?�

P:�Ei, isch du des doch nett alles uffschreiwe !�

H:�Ei, warum dust dann du nett alles uffschreiwe ?�

(no �DO� if there already is another auxiliary verb !)

SIMPLE PRESENT	examples
1. positive Aussages�tze (affirmative)	You like travelling. (He/She/It likes !...)
2. verneinte S�tze (negative)	You do not (= don't) like travelling.
3. Frages�tze (interrogative)	Do you like travelling ?
4. verneinte Frages�tze (negative interrogative)	Do you not (= Don't you) like travelling ?
5. Kurzantworten (nicht zu �bersetzen)	Yes, I do./ No, I do not (= don't).
6. Frageanh�ngsel (question tags) (nicht wahr ?, oder nicht ?, oder doch ?, gell ?)	(1)You like travelling, do you not (= don't you)? (2)You don't like travelling, do you ?
7. Aufforderung/ Befehl (imperative)	Shut the window, please.
8. verneinte Aufforderung (negative imperative)	Do not (= Don't) torture animals.
Anmerkungen (annotations):	examples
1. und 2.auch als Entr�stungs- oder unechte Frage m�glich	You like travelling ?/ You do not (= don't) like travelling ?
bei: he/ she/ it, etc.: does statt do	z. B. 2. He does not like travelling.
vor allem in der gesprochenen Sprache wird vorzugsweise die zusammengezogenen Formen �don�t� /�doesn�t �verwendet.	z. B. 2. You don�t like travelling. z. B. 2. He doesn�t like travelling.
Ausnahmen (exceptions): (d. h. kein �do�!)
a) wenn bereits ein Hilfsverb oder eine Form von �be� vorhanden ist	He isn't rich. (aber: Don't be silly !- s. 8.)
Auxiliary Verb to be (am,are,is)	He isn't sleeping.
Auxiliary Verb to have (sofern nicht das Vollverb �besitzen� gemeint ist !)	Have you met him before ? (aber: Do you have a new car ?- Besitzt Du ein...)
Defective auxiliary verbs: can, could, may, might, must, (need), ought to, shall, should, will, would (kein he/she/it -s ! keine 3 Stammformen! keine ing-Form !)	z. B. 2. You needn't complain. z. B. 3. May I have another one ? z. B. 4. Can�t you tell him tomorrow? z. B. 5. Yes, I ought to.
b) positive Frage nach dem Subjekt (wer oder was ?)	Who likes travelling ? (�who� wie he/ she/ it !) (aber: Who doesn't like travelling ?- s. 2.)
SIMPLE PAST
wie SIMPLE PRESENT 2.- 6., aber: �did� statt �do/ does� !	1. You saw him. 2. You didn't see him.   etc.
Note:
alle FUTURE TENSES ohne �do�, da bereits das Hilfsverb �will� vorhanden ist !	z.B. 2. I will not (=won�t) tell him.
alle CONDITIONAL TENSES/ TENSES with AUXILIARY VERBS ohne do,da bereits das Hilfsverb �would�, �can�, etc. vorhanden ist !	z. B. 3. Would you tell him about it ?
alle PERFECT TENSES ohne �do�, da bereits das Hilfsverb �to have� vorhanden ist !	z. B. 4. Haven�t you finished yet ?
alle CONTINUOUS FORMS ohne �do�, da bereits das Hilfsverb �to be� vorhanden ist !	z. B. 2. He wasn�t sleeping, when I came in.
alle Passivs�tze ohne �do�, da bereits das Hilfsverb �to be� (�werden�) vorhanden ist !	z.B: 1. This book was not written by Noah.

They say asking questions

makes you wise.

Tense/ Form with Auxiliary Verb or form of to BE

Auxiliary Verb

1.	all Future Tenses	will
2.	all Conditional Tenses/	would
3.	Auxiliary Verb Tenses	can/ could/ must, etc.
4.	all Perfect Tenses	to have: have/ has; had
5.	Continuous Form- all Tenses	to be: am/ are/ is; was/ were
6.	Passive Voice- all Tenses	to be: am/ are/ is; was/ were
7.	to be	to be: am/ are/ is; was/ were

1.	When will you do that ?
2.	Would you do that ?
3.	Can you help me ?
4.	Has he already done his homework ?
5.	Is he sleeping ?
6.	When was that bridge built ?
7.	Are you American ?

Tense/ Form with no Auxiliary Verb

Auxiliary Verb to DO

1.	Simple Present	do/ does (for he/ she/ it)
2.	Simple Past	did

1.	What time do you get up in the morning ?/ How does she feel about him ?
2.	When did you write that ?

Exception: asking about the subject (positively !)

the 4 main types

Type	Simple PAST	Simple PRESENT	Simple FUTURE
affirmative (Aussage)	They wrote letters.	They write letters.	They will write letters.
interrogative (Frage)	Did they write letters?	Do they write letters?	Will they write letters?
negative (verneinte Aussage)	They didn�t write letters.	They don�t write letters.	They won�t write letters.
interrogative negative (verneinte Frage)	Didn�t they write letters?	Don�t they write letters?	Won�t they write letters?
Type	PAST Perfect	PRESENT Perfect	FUTURE Perfect
affirmative (Aussage)	They had written letters.	They have written letters.	They will have written letters.
interrogative (Frage)	Had they written letters?	Have they written letters?	Will they have written letters?
negative (verneinte Aussage)	They hadn�t written letters.	They haven�t written letters.	They won�t have written letters.
interrogative negative (verneinte Frage)	Hadn�t they   written letters?	Haven�t they   written letters?	Won�t they have written letters?

10.Continuous Form

(alias Progressive Form; alias Verlaufsform; alias �ing�- Form)

The expression �ing- form� is the least best, because you can use the ing-form for more than the Continuous Form and

the Continuous Form is more than just the ing� form; it�s:

to BE (was / were // am / is / are // will be // had been // have been / has been // will have been) + ing-form !!

11.Simple and Continuous Forms

Simple PAST	Simple PRESENT	Simple FUTURE	Condit.
I ate...	I eat...	I�ll eat...	I would eat...
PAST Continuous	PRESENT Continuous	FUTURE Continuous	Condit. Contin.
I was eating..	I am eating..	I�ll be eating...	I would be eating ...
PAST Perfect	PRESENT Perfect	FUTURE Perfect	Cond.Per.
I had eaten...	I have eaten...	I�ll have eaten...	I would have eaten ...
PAST Perfect Continuous	PRESENT Perfect Continuous	FUTURE Perfect Continuous	Cond.Per. Contin.
I had been eating..	I have been eating..	(I�ll have been eating...)	(I would have been eating ...)

Bildung der Continuous Form:

corresponding tense of

to be

+ �ing� Form

of the Verb

Anwendung der Continuous Form:

Achtung: Verben, die keine dauerhafte momentane T�tigkeit beschreiben,

haben keine Continuous Form (to be als �sein�; to know; u.a.)

12.Special: Future

Is there more than 1 future ?

Ich sehe dich dann morgen !	tense/ form	meaning
I�ll see you tomorrow, then.	Simple Future (from Simple Forms sixpack)	neutral; it will certainly happen; soon, spontaneous
I�ll be seeing you tomorrow, then.	Future Continuous (from Continuous Forms sixpack)	stressing the action; mentally already doing it
I�m going to see you tomorrow, then.	Substitute �to be going to� (Present Continuous of to go)	intention, plan
I�m seeing you tomorrow, then.	Present Continuous (only with future time adverbial, otherwise ambiguous)	planned, sure

	tense/ form	meaning
My train leaves at 6:30 tomorrow morning.         If I see you tomorrow I will tell you. As soon as we get there we�ll see it.	Simple Present	only scheduled times (e.g. timetables), regular; almost 100 per cent sure; if-clauses type I; some time adv.

(Future Perfect)

	tense/ form	meaning
I�m sure it will have left by 6:35.	Future Perfect	wird sp�testens zum genannten Zeitpunkt beendet sein
As soon as we have arrived, we�ll have a rest.	Present Perfect	after some time adverbials

13.Active and Passive Voice

ACTIVE  VOICE:

(sentence starts with the doer, ends up with the victim - if there is any !)

(Subject = doer  ---  Object = victim)

or

PASSIVE  VOICE

(sentence starts with the victim)

(Subject = victim  ---  object = doer)

Passive Voice needs a victim !

Passive Voice does not need a doer !

In English the Passive Voice is formed with �to BE�.

to be (sein = active voice) or

to be (werden = passive voice)

that is the question !)

You form the  passive voice

  with the corresponding tense and form of to be

+ the 3rd form (past participle) of the original verb

the doer (subject of sentence in active voice) can be added using by...

Example in Simple Present:

	Subject	Predicate	Object
Active Voice:	This man	eats	a lot of vegetables.
Passive Voice:	A lot of vegetables	are eaten	(by this man).

Example in Present Continuous:

	S.	P.	O.
Active V.	Thomas	is eating	a pizza.
Passive V.	A pizza	is being eaten	(by Thomas).

Example with 2 Objects:

	S.	P.	O. (1)	O. (2)
Active V.	They	have promised	this worker	better conditions.
Passive V. (1)	This worker	has been promised	better conditions	(by them).
Passive V. (2)	Better conditions	have been promised	to this worker	(by them).

Translation problems:

The club members were thanked for their contributions.

Den Klubmitgliedern wurde f�r ihre Beitr�ge gedankt.

This problem was spoken about again and again.

�ber dieses Problem wurde immer wieder gesprochen.

The old man was taken care of.

Man k�mmerte sich um den alten Mann. Man nahm sich des alten Mannes an.

Mr. Dean is said to be a millionaire.

Von Herrn Dean wird gesagt/ Herrn Dean wird nachgesagt, ein Million�r zu sein/ er sei Million�r. Herr Dean ist angeblich Million�r. Herr Dean soll (angeblich) Million�r sein.

Uncle George enjoys being told a joke.

Onkel Georg hat es gerne, wenn man ihm einen Witz erz�hlt/ wenn er einen Witz erz�hlt bekommt.

Active and Passive Voice in Contrast

Active Voice

Form/ Tense

Passive Voice

1.	to drive	Infinitive	to be driven
2.	to swim		--- (intransitive verb=no object)

1.	driving	Present Participle	being driven
2.	swimming		--- (intransitive verb=no object)

6 Tenses

Simple Form

1.	I drove the car.	Past	The car was driven by me.
2.	You swim every day.	Present	--- (no object)
3.	He will do it soon.	Future	It will be done by him soon.
4.	We had asked him before.	Past Perfect	He had been asked by us before.
5.	You have always been friendly.	Present Perfect	--- (no object)
6.	They will have phoned me by noon.	Future Perfect	I will have been phoned by them by noon.

Continuous Form

1.	I was driving the car.	Past	The car was being driven by me.
2.	You are swimming now.	Present	--- (no object)
3.	He will be doing it soon.	Future	It will be being done by him soon.
4.	We had been asking him before.	Past Perfect	He had been being asked by us before.
5.	(no Continuous Form of to be)	Present Perfect	--- (no object; no ing-form)
6.	(They will have been phoning me by noon.)	(Future Perfect)	(I will have been being phoned by them by noon.)

	Kurzformel Passiv
	Simple � Continuous
	being vor Hauptverb
z.B. 1. The car was driven by me.� The car was being driven by me.

Tenses Simple and Continuous Forms Active and Passive Voice

Simple Forms  -  Active Voice

Tense Form	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE
SIMPLE	Last year he wrote his 21st novel.	He writes a novel every year.	Next year he will write his 23rd novel.
PERFECT SIMPLE	He had written poems before he started writing novels.	He has already written 21 novels.	He will have written his current novel by the end of this year.

Continuous Forms  -  Active Voice

Tense Form	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE
CONTINUOUS	He was writing his 21st novel when I visited him last year.	At present he is writing his 22nd novel.	He will be writing his 23rd novel next year.
PERFECT CONTINUOUS	He had been writing poems before he started writing novels.	He has been writing his current novel for 10 months now.	(He will have been writing his current novel by the end of this year.)

Simple Forms  -  Passive Voice

Tense Form	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE
SIMPLE	Last year his 21st novel was written (by him).	Every year a novel is written by him.	Next year his 23rd novel will be written (by him).
PERFECT SIMPLE	Before he started writing novels poems had been written by him.	For the last 21 years 21 novels have been written by him.	By the end of this year his 22nd novel will have been written(by him).