Past Perfect Passive
Das Past Perfect Passiv beschreibt eine Handlung, die vor einem anderen vergangenen Zeitpunkt bereits abgeschlossen worden war — aus der Perspektive des betroffenen Objekts. Es wird in denselben Situationen verwendet wie das Past Perfect Aktiv.
The contract had been signed before the meeting started.
By the time we arrived, all the food had been eaten.
1. Formenbildung
| Aussage | Frage | Verneinung |
|---|---|---|
| I had been asked | Had I been asked? | I had not been (hadn’t been) asked |
| He / she / it had been asked | Had he / she / it been asked? | He / she / it had not been (hadn’t been) asked |
| You / we / they had been asked | Had you / we / they been asked? | You / we / they had not been (hadn’t been) asked |
2. Aktiv → Passiv
| Aktiv | Passiv |
|---|---|
| She had written the report before the deadline. | The report had been written before the deadline. |
| They had already cancelled the meeting. | The meeting had already been cancelled. |
| Someone had stolen the car before he noticed. | The car had been stolen before he noticed. |
Umformung Schritt für Schritt
1. Objekt des Aktivsatzes → Subjekt des Passivsatzes.
2. had + Past Participle ersetzen durch had been + Past Participle (Partizip II).
They had finished the project. → The project had been finished.
3. Verwendung
Handlungen, die vor einem anderen vergangenen Ereignis bereits abgeschlossen worden waren — das Past Perfect Passiv markiert das zeitlich Frühere.
When the police arrived, the suspect had already been released.
The documents had been destroyed before the investigation began.
4. Typische Fehler
Häufige Fehler
✗ Falsch The report had been wrote before the meeting. — Nach been steht das Past Participle (Partizip II).
✓ Richtig The report had been written before the meeting.
✗ Falsch The project has been finished before they arrived. — Für das zeitlich Frühere in der Vergangenheit steht had been, nicht has been.
✓ Richtig The project had been finished before they arrived.
5. Deutsch-Englisch: Der entscheidende Unterschied
Das deutsche Plusquamperfekt Passiv wird mit „war/waren … worden“ gebildet. Die Struktur ist dem Englischen sehr ähnlich — der Unterschied liegt im Gebrauch: Im Deutschen wird das Plusquamperfekt Passiv oft weggelassen, wenn der Ablauf aus dem Kontext klar ist. Im Englischen markiert had been die zeitliche Reihenfolge explizit.
Deutsch vs. Englisch: Past Perfect Passiv
„Der Vertrag war bereits unterzeichnet worden, bevor die Sitzung begann.“ → The contract had been signed before the meeting started.
Im Deutschen ist „worden“ das Erkennungsmerkmal des Passivs im Plusquamperfekt. Im Englischen übernimmt had been + Past Participle (Partizip II) diese Funktion — ohne eigenes Äquivalent zu „worden“.