werden appears in three completely different situations in German: it expresses becoming, it builds the future tense, and it builds the passive voice. None of these look the same on the surface, but they all use the same conjugation. Learn the forms once. Then the three jobs follow.
One thing to watch as you go: werden in yellow is werden as a full verb, the copula meaning "to become" (Job 1). werden in gray is werden working purely as a grammatical auxiliary, building Futur I or the Passiv (Jobs 2 and 3), where it carries no meaning of its own and no case.
The forms: Präsens
werden is irregular. Two forms in Präsens change the stem vowel: du wirst and er · sie · es wird. Everything else follows a normal pattern around the stem werd-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde |
| du | wirst |
| er · sie · es | wird |
| wir | werden |
| ihr | werdet |
| sie · Sie | werden |
The stem vowel change in second and third person singular is the one irregular feature. du wirst and er wird are the two forms that trip learners up. Memorize them early.
The forms: Präteritum
In the Präteritum, werden uses the stem wurd-. This form appears frequently in written German and in Passiv constructions, so it is worth knowing.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | wurde |
| du | wurdest |
| er · sie · es | wurde |
| wir | wurden |
| ihr | wurdet |
| sie · Sie | wurden |
Job 1: to become
As a full verb, werden means "to become" or "to get." It works as a copula: it connects a subject to what it is turning into. Like sein and bleiben, it keeps both sides in the Nominativ. Nothing is transferred to an object. The person or thing on the left simply moves toward the description on the right.
- Er wirdArzt. (He is becoming a doctor.)
- Sie wirdeine gute Lehrerin. (She is becoming a good teacher.)
- Das Kind wird groß. (The child is getting big.)
- Es wird dunkel. (It is getting dark.)
When werden is followed by a noun, that noun stays in the Nominativ. When it is followed by an adjective, the adjective carries no case and gets no color.
Job 2: Futur I auxiliary
werden is the auxiliary verb for Futur I. It pairs with the infinitive of a main verb, which moves to the end of the sentence. The conjugated form of werden holds position two. The infinitive closes the sentence.
- Ich werde morgen lernen. (I will study tomorrow.)
- Er wird bald kommen. (He will come soon.)
- Wir werden nächste Woche fliegen. (We will fly next week.)
In this role, werden is purely a grammatical helper. It carries the tense signal and the conjugation. The main verb stays in its infinitive form and does nothing except contribute meaning.
Job 3: Passiv auxiliary
werden also builds the passive voice. In the Passiv, the focus shifts from who does something to what happens. The subject of the sentence is no longer the actor. It is what receives the action. werden pairs with the past participle of the main verb, which moves to the end.
- Das Buch wird gelesen. (The book is being read.)
- Der Brief wird geschrieben. (The letter is being written.)
- Das Auto wurde repariert. (The car was repaired.)
In this role, the past participle is what tells you what actually happened. werden only carries tense and number. The subject is what is affected by the action, not who performs it.