Breakdown of Das Gedicht wird von dem Autor übersetzt.
von
from, of / by (agent in passive clauses)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Autor
the author
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
das Gedicht
the poem
übersetzen
to translate
Questions & Answers about Das Gedicht wird von dem Autor übersetzt.
Why use von here instead of durch for "by"?
In German passive sentences, we use von (followed by the dative case) for the active agent. This is usually a person, animal, or organization actively doing the action. Since the author (der Autor) is a person translating the poem, von is the right choice. We generally use durch (with the accusative) for a tool, means, or indirect cause.
Could I say vom Autor instead of von dem Autor?
Yes, absolutely! The preposition von and the dative article dem often merge into the contraction vom in everyday German. Both von dem Autor and vom Autor are perfectly correct here.
Why does the sentence use wird when the English translation says "is"?
German builds the standard passive voice using the auxiliary verb werden (here conjugated as wird) plus the past participle. This describes the ongoing action of the poem being translated. If you used ist, it would describe a finished state, meaning the translation process was already fully completed.
Why doesn't the past participle übersetzt have a ge- in front of it?
When the verb übersetzen means "to translate", its prefix über- is inseparable. Verbs with inseparable prefixes do not add ge- when forming the past participle, so it just becomes übersetzt.
Learn Das Gedicht wird von dem Autor übersetzt and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free