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### The Reflexive Passive Alternative

In English, we often use active verbs to describe how a product handles: "The book reads well" or "The car drives well."

German expresses this using a **reflexive construction** (*Reflexivkonstruktion als Passiversatz*). 

Use the item being described as the subject, followed by the active verb, the reflexive pronoun *sich*, and an adverb (*gut*, *schlecht*, *am besten*).

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### Reviewing Usability and Design

This pattern is common in product reviews for describing usability, physical handling, or maintenance. It shifts the focus from the user to the product itself. 

Verbs like *bedienen* (to operate), *lenken* (to steer), and *waschen* (to wash) are frequently used with *sich*.

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### Conditions and Drawbacks

You can also use this structure in negative phrases or conditional statements to highlight how a design choice impacts the user experience or a product's sales.

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Reflexive passive alternatives (liest sich gut)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
the manual (instructions, guide)	die Anleitung
The new manual reads really well.	Die neue Anleitung liest sich wirklich gut.
compact	kompakt
Which compact car drives best?	Welches kompakte Auto fährt sich am besten?
the menu (computing, set meal)	das Menü
to operate	bedienen
intuitive	intuitiv
The menu operates completely intuitively.	Das Menü bedient sich völlig intuitiv.
This fabric washes very well.	Dieser Stoff wäscht sich sehr gut.
handy	handlich
to steer	lenken
easily / easy (also: light in weight)	leicht
The car is handy and steers very easily.	Der Wagen ist handlich und lenkt sich sehr leicht.
the display	das Display
Should the display be too small, it sells poorly.	Sollte das Display zu klein sein, verkauft es sich schlecht.
This compact bus steers wonderfully.	Dieser kompakte Bus lenkt sich wunderbar.
The device is handy, so it operates all the more easily.	Das Gerät ist handlich, umso leichter bedient es sich.
Which software installs faster?	Welche Software installiert sich schneller?
Without glasses, this book does not read well.	Ohne Brille liest sich dieses Buch nicht gut.
the surface	die Oberfläche
smoothly	reibungslos
The manual reads well, and the interface operates smoothly.	Die Anleitung liest sich gut, und die Oberfläche bedient sich reibungslos.
The menu on the display operates intuitively.	Das Menü auf dem Display bedient sich intuitiv.
This interface functions smoothly.	Diese Oberfläche funktioniert reibungslos.