Breakdown of Das Material wird automatisch kontrolliert.
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
das Material
the material
automatisch
automatically
Questions & Answers about Das Material wird automatisch kontrolliert.
How do we know this sentence is in the passive voice?
The sentence uses the verb werden (here conjugated as wird) combined with the past participle kontrolliert. In German, this specific combination forms the standard passive voice (Vorgangspassiv), which focuses on the action happening to the material rather than who is doing the inspecting.
Why doesn't the past participle kontrolliert start with ge- like most past participles?
Verbs that end in -ieren, like kontrollieren, studieren, or fotografieren, never take the ge- prefix in their past participle form. They simply end in -t.
Does kontrolliert mean the material is being 'controlled' or operated?
Not exactly. The verb kontrollieren is a common false friend for English speakers. While it can sometimes mean to control, it much more frequently means to check, to inspect, or to monitor something. Here, the material is being inspected.
Why is kontrolliert at the very end of the sentence?
In German passive sentences, the conjugated helping verb (wird) takes the second position, pushing the past participle (kontrolliert) to the very end. This forms a sentence bracket that surrounds other details, like the adverb automatisch.