State Passive with sein

Imagine you walk into a cafe. You see a sign: Reserviert. This is the Zustandspassiv in its purest form. Someone did the action (reserving) earlier. Now, the table exists in a state of being reserved. You don't care who reserved it. You just know you can't sit there. This pattern turns a dynamic action into a static description. It’s like freezing time. In English, we often use the same form for both process and state. German is more precise. It separates the "happening" from the "done." It’s like the difference between watching a pizza bake and seeing it on the table. One makes you hungry; the other satisfies you. Think of it as the "result-oriented" cousin of the normal passive voice.

1. 1Start with your subject. This is the thing receiving the action.
2. 2Grab the correct form of the verb sein. Conjugate it for your subject.
3. 3Put the Participle II (the ge- word) at the very end of the sentence.
4. 4Example: Das Fenster (Subject) + ist (sein) + geöffnet (Participle). Simple, right? Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes by choosing the wrong auxiliary verb. If you want to talk about the past, just change ist to war. Das Fenster war geöffnet. Now it was open, but maybe it isn't anymore. It’s like a grammar time machine that only shows you the destination, not the journey. No complicated worden or gewesen endings needed for basic state passive!

Use it when the result matters more than the process. Use it for fixed states that you can see or verify right now.

• Broken things: Mein Handy ist beschädigt (My phone is damaged).
• Finished tasks: Die E-Mail ist abgeschickt (The email is sent).
• Shop status: Der Laden ist geöffnet (The shop is open).
• Rules and laws: Das Gesetz ist verabschiedet (The law is passed).

In a job interview, you might say: Das Projekt ist bereits abgeschlossen. It sounds professional and final. No more work needed. You are basically saying, "I'm done, let's move on!" It gives a sense of completion that native speakers love. If you're at a restaurant and the waiter asks about your drink, you can say Es ist schon bestellt. It’s polite, clear, and very German.

Don't use this for verbs that don't leave a result. If you say Ich bin geschlafen, Germans will look at you very confused. That’s because sleeping doesn't result in a "slept state" for an object. You also can't use it for ongoing actions. If the painter is still painting, use werden. If you use sein, people will expect a finished masterpiece. Avoid it with verbs like helfen (to help) or danken (to thank) too. These verbs don't change the state of the object in a way that sein can describe. It’s strictly for "result-oriented" verbs. Think of it like a grammar traffic light. Red means stop and look at the result (sein). Green means go and watch the action (werden).

The biggest trap? Mixing up werden and sein. If you say Die Tür wird geschlossen, someone is currently pushing it. If you say Die Tür ist geschlossen, it's already shut. Another mistake is forgetting the Participle II. Die Tür ist schließt is a crime against grammar. Always use the ge- form. Also, don't try to add von mir (by me) too often. The whole point of state passive is that we don't care who did it. Adding the person makes the sentence feel cluttered and awkward. It’s like trying to explain why you’re late when the boss just wants to know if the report is finished. Just say Der Bericht ist fertiggestellt and breathe.

You might ask: "Isn't this just an adjective?" Sometimes! Die Tür ist offen (adjective) vs Die Tür ist geöffnet (state passive). The difference is subtle but important. Geöffnet implies someone opened it. Offen just describes the state without implying a previous action. It’s like the difference between being "born lucky" and "becoming lucky." One just is; the other was caused. Compared to the Vorgangspassiv (werden), the state passive is static. Vorgangspassiv is a movie; Zustandspassiv is a photo. Choose your medium wisely. If you want to sound like a B2 pro, use sein to emphasize that the hard work is over.