Passive Replacement with man

At its heart, this rule is about swapping the passive voice for an active sentence using the indefinite pronoun man. Instead of saying "The door is being closed," you say "One closes the door."

In a standard passive sentence like Das Buch wird gelesen (The book is being read), the focus is entirely on the book. The person reading it is invisible. When we use man, we bring a human element back into the sentence: Man liest das Buch.

Here’s the secret: man always behaves like a single person. Even if you’re talking about a million people, man uses the exact same verb form as er, sie, or es. It’s like a grammar shortcut that saves you from having to worry about plural conjugations or the complex structure of the passive voice with werden. It’s simple, elegant, and honestly, a bit of a relief for anyone tired of juggling wurde, worden, and werden.

1. 1Creating these sentences is as easy as making a sandwich. Just follow these three steps:
2. 2Start with the subject man. Always keep it lowercase (unless it starts the sentence, obviously). Don't confuse it with der Mann (the man), which has two 'n's and a capital letter! Think of the extra 'n' as the guy's hat—man doesn't wear a hat.
3. 3Add your verb in the 3rd person singular. This is the same form you use for er/sie/es. For example: man sagt, man trinkt, man geht.
4. 4Add the rest of your sentence. Remember that since this is an active sentence, any objects will usually be in the Accusative case.
5. 5Example transition:
6. 6Passive: Hier wird nicht geraucht. (Smoking is not done here.)
7. 7man version: Hier raucht man nicht. (One doesn't smoke here.)
8. 8It’s like a grammar traffic light: Green means go with man, yellow means watch your conjugation, and red means don't forget the case change for your objects!

When should you pull man out of your pocket? Use it in these real-world scenarios:

• General Rules and Instructions: When you're explaining how to play a board game or how to use the subway. Man kauft zuerst ein Ticket. (First, you buy a ticket.)
• Social Norms and Traditions: If you’re describing what people do at a German wedding. In Deutschland tanzt man viel. (In Germany, people dance a lot.)
• Rumors and General Knowledge: When you don't have a specific source. Man sagt, dass er reich ist. (They say he is rich.)
• Recipes: Although recipes often use the Imperative, man is great for describing the process. Zuerst schneidet man die Zwiebeln. (First, you cut the onions.)

It’s perfect for those moments when you want to sound objective but not robotic. If you're in a job interview and want to describe how a task is usually handled in your industry, man is your best friend. It shows you understand the general standard without making it all about yourself.

As much as we love man, it’s not for every situation. Avoid it when:

• The actor is specific: If you know exactly who did the action, use their name or ich/du/wir. If you say Man hat mein Auto gestohlen, it sounds like a general fact of life. If you know the thief, say Dieser Dieb hat mein Auto gestohlen!
• Extremely Formal Documents: High-level legal texts or academic papers still prefer the real passive because it sounds more "official."
• Personal Feelings: Don't use man to hide your own opinions if you want to be honest. If you say Man findet das Essen schlecht, but you’re the only one eating, it sounds a bit passive-aggressive. Just say Ich finde es schlecht!

Even native speakers mess this up sometimes, so don't sweat it too much! But watch out for these:

• The Two-N Trap: Writing mann instead of man. Remember: man = someone/anyone. Mann = a male human. If you write Mann sagt, you're saying "Man says," which sounds like a superhero movie title.
• Plural Paranoia: Trying to use a plural verb. Learners often think "Well, 'man' refers to many people, so I should use 'sie' (plural) forms." Nope! Man is a lonely soul—it always stays singular. Man essen is a big ✗. Man isst is the ✓ way to go.
• Case Confusion: Forgetting that man can change cases. Yes, it has cousins! In the Accusative, it becomes einen, and in the Dative, it becomes einem. Das macht einen müde (That makes one tired). It’s rare, but it happens!

How does man stack up against its rivals?

• man vs. Passive: Passive (wird gemacht) is about the result. man (man macht) is about the action being done by *someone*. Passive is a cold robot; man is a blurry human.
• man vs. wir: Wir (we) is inclusive. If you say Wir essen hier, you are part of the group. If you say Man isst hier, you are just observing a general habit.
• man vs. man kann: Adding kann (can) changes it from "what people do" to "what is possible." Hier raucht man (People smoke here) vs. Hier kann man rauchen (One can smoke here). Subtle, but important if you don't want to get in trouble with the law!