{"id":93092,"date":"2023-06-20T15:37:09","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T19:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/werden-german\/"},"modified":"2025-05-24T08:12:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T12:12:47","slug":"werden-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/werden-german\/","title":{"rendered":"German “Werden” Explained: 7 Uses of the Verb"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometime at the beginning of B-levels<\/a>, you\u2019ll start to see the word\u00a0werden<\/em> cropping up everywhere.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll learn that it\u2019s used for passive constructions. Then you\u2019ll learn it\u2019s used for future tense. And subjunctive<\/a>.\u00a0And\u2026the list goes on.<\/p>\n

But never fear! Master the seven distinct uses of werden<\/em> below,<\/strong> and you\u2019ll open the door to seven brand new grammatical forms and seven new methods of self-expression in German.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How Do You Conjugate Werden<\/em>?<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with the basics: conjugation<\/strong>. Werden<\/em> is used in various tenses, depending on its grammatical function, and it\u2019s important to get those straight before we go any farther.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Pronoun<\/b><\/th>Simple present<\/b><\/th>Simple past<\/b><\/th>Present perfect<\/b><\/th>Subjunctive<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
ich<\/i> (I)<\/td>werde<\/i><\/td>wurde<\/i><\/td>bin geworden<\/i><\/td>w\u00fcrde<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
du<\/i> (you)<\/td>wirst<\/i><\/td>wurdest<\/i><\/td>bist geworden<\/i><\/td>w\u00fcrdest<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sie<\/i> (you - formal)<\/td>werden<\/i><\/td>wurden<\/i><\/td>sind geworden<\/i><\/td>w\u00fcrden<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
er\/sie\/es<\/i> (he\/she\/it)<\/td>wird<\/i><\/td>wurde<\/i><\/td>ist geworden<\/i><\/td>w\u00fcrde<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihr<\/i> (you - plural)<\/td>werdet<\/i><\/td>wurdet<\/i><\/td>seid geworden<\/i><\/td>w\u00fcrdet<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
wir<\/i> (we)<\/td>werden<\/i><\/td>wurden<\/i><\/td>sind geworden<\/i><\/td>w\u00fcrden<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

7 Key Ways to Use the German Verb Werden<\/em><\/h2>\n

Werden\u00a0<\/em>has many different roles in German, so be sure to get a grasp on its various functions in the language.<\/p>\n

1. Werden<\/em> as the present tense verb\u00a0<\/em>“to become”<\/h3>\n

What does\u00a0werden<\/em> mean when you use it in its normal, present tense form? Werden<\/em> means “to become.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

The incautious German student might think that bekommen<\/em> means “to become,” but be careful making assumptions, because bekommen<\/em> is a falscher Freund <\/em>(false friend). It actually means “to receive.”<\/p>\n

If you want to indicate that something’s in the process of becoming something else, werden<\/em> is the word for you. If you want to say you\u2019re getting sick, use werden.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ich werde<\/strong> Krank.<\/em>
\nI’m getting sick.<\/p>\n

If you want to say someone\u2019s starting a new career, say, becoming a doctor, use werden<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Er wird<\/strong> Arzt.<\/em>
\nHe’s becoming a doctor.<\/p>\n

If you want to talk about something that became something else in the near past, you can use the Particip II<\/em> of werden<\/em> to create the present perfect tense (Perfekt<\/em>): geworden<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ich bin Journalistin geworden<\/strong><\/em>.
\nI became a journalist.<\/p>\n

Since werden<\/em> is a word that involves a change, make sure to use sein<\/em>, not haben <\/em>to form the present perfect tense.<\/p>\n

If you want to talk about something that became something else in the simple past (which is often used in literary forms or history books), use the Pr\u00e4teritum<\/em> forms above.<\/p>\n

Goethe wurde<\/strong> Schriftsteller<\/em>.
\nGoethe became a writer.<\/p>\n

2. Passive constructions of w<\/em>erden<\/em><\/h3>\n

Have you figured out how to use werden<\/em> to mean become or became? Good. Now let\u2019s move on to using werden<\/em> to construct passive sentences.<\/p>\n

Remember, a passive construction is a construction where the subject of the sentence is acted upon by something else, rather than the subject of the sentence performing an action.\u00a0An English example: The house was built.<\/p>\n

To form a present tense passive construction in German, use the present tense of werden<\/em> plus the Particip II<\/em> version of a verb. For example:<\/p>\n

Das Haus wird<\/strong> gebaut.<\/em>
\nThe house is being built.<\/p>\n

To form a past passive construction in German, you could use either Perfekt\u00a0<\/em>(perfect)\u00a0or Pr\u00e4teritum <\/em>(past). In Perfekt<\/em>, use the Particip II\u00a0<\/em>(participle) of the verb plus worden<\/em>. For example:<\/p>\n

Das Haus ist gebaut worden<\/strong>.<\/em>
\nThe house was being built.<\/p>\n

In Pr\u00e4teritum<\/em>, or literary past tense, you would use the Pr\u00e4teritum<\/em> version of werden<\/em> plus the Particip II<\/em>. For example:<\/p>\n

Der Song wurde<\/strong> von den Beatles gesungen<\/em>.
\nThe song was sung by the Beatles.<\/p>\n

3. Werden<\/em> in k<\/em>onjunktiv<\/em> II (subjunctive) form<\/h3>\n

Now let\u2019s talk about how you can use werden<\/em> to express subjunctive, or conditional<\/a>, forms.<\/p>\n

This is used to express something that isn\u2019t real: a wish, a hope or an unreal situation. How do you form these constructions? There are eight verbs that have their own Konjunctiv<\/em> II forms, but the rest of the time you\u00a0use the Konjunctiv <\/em>II form of werden<\/em>, plus the infinitive of a verb. (You can read more about those verbs with their own Konjuntiv II forms\u00a0<\/em>them here<\/a>.) Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

Wenn ich das machen w\u00fcrde<\/strong>\u2026<\/em>
\nIf I did\u00a0that\u2026<\/p>\n

Ich w\u00fcrde<\/strong> Sie ja gerne mitnehmen, wenn Sie Zeit h\u00e4tten.<\/em>
\nI would gladly take you with me, if you had time.<\/p>\n

Wenn ich Geld h\u00e4tte, w\u00fcrde<\/strong> ich einen Kaffee trinken.<\/em>
\nIf I had money, I would drink a coffee.<\/p>\n

To remember these different forms of werden<\/em>, I recommend listening to the word in use in authentic, natural context, such as on FluentU<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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