Die Software des Geräts wird heute getestet.

Die Software des Geräts wird heute getestet.
The software of the device is being tested today.

Breakdown of Die Software des Geräts wird heute getestet.

heute
today
werden
to become
das Gerät
the device
die Software
the software
testen
to test
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Questions & Answers about Die Software des Geräts wird heute getestet.

Why do we say des Geräts to show that the software belongs to the device, and not von dem Gerät?

German often expresses possession with the genitive case rather than a prepositional phrase.

  • des Geräts is the genitive singular of das Gerät (neuter), literally “of the device.”
  • You can use von dem Gerät (“from/of the device”) in spoken or informal German, but the genitive is more concise and common in written or formal contexts.
How do I form the genitive singular for neuter nouns like das Gerät, and why does it have an -s at the end?

In German, most neuter and masculine nouns add -s (or -es) in the genitive singular:

  • Short, one‑syllable nouns often take -es (e.g. des Hauses).
  • Longer or multi‑syllable nouns take -s (e.g. des Geräts, des Computers).
    You also change the definite article to des (neuter/masculine) or der (feminine/plural).
What is the passive voice in German, and why do we say wird getestet instead of testet?

The passive voice emphasizes the action or its result, not the actor. In German present‐passive you combine:

  1. The correct form of werden (here wird, 3rd person singular)
  2. The past participle of the main verb (here getestet from testen)
    So wird getestet = “is being tested.”
    The active equivalent would name the tester:
    Der Techniker testet heute die Software des Geräts.
Why is getestet at the very end of the sentence?

In a German main clause with a verbal bracket (finite verb + participle), the past participle always goes to the end. The pattern here is:
Subject (Die Software des Geräts) – finite verb (wird) – adverb (heute) – participle (getestet).

Why is heute placed between wird and getestet? Can I move it elsewhere?

Adverbs of time generally follow the finite verb in German:

  1. Verb (wird)
  2. Time adverb (heute)
  3. Rest (getestet)
    You can front heute for emphasis, but you must keep wird in second position and getestet at the end:
    Heute wird die Software des Geräts getestet.
Why is Software feminine (die Software), and does it have a plural form?
Although Software is an English loanword, German treats it as a feminine noun: die Software. It’s normally uncountable, so there is no common plural Softwares. To talk about different packages you’d say, for example, verschiedene Softwarelösungen or Programme.
Why are Software and Gerät capitalized in German?
In German orthography all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence. That’s why you see Software, Gerät, Haus, Freund, etc., always with an initial capital letter.
How would I rewrite the sentence in active voice?

You need to introduce an agent (who does the testing) and use the active verb form. For example:
Der Techniker testet heute die Software des Geräts.
Here Der Techniker is the subject/actor, testet is the active verb, and die Software des Geräts is the object.