Zwei Pakete werden vom Paketdienst am Morgen abgeholt.

Zwei Pakete werden vom Paketdienst am Morgen abgeholt.
Two packages are picked up by the parcel service in the morning.
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Questions & Answers about Zwei Pakete werden vom Paketdienst am Morgen abgeholt.

Why is this sentence in the passive voice instead of the active?

The passive voice is used here because the focus is on what happens to the packages (they get picked up), not on who does it. In German, the passive is formed with a form of werden + the past participle (abgeholt). In the active it would be:
Der Paketdienst holt zwei Pakete am Morgen ab.

Why is it werden and not wird?

In German, the finite verb werden agrees in number with the subject. Here the subject is Zwei Pakete, which is plural, so you use werden. If it were singular (e.g., Ein Paket), you would say wird.

What does vom Paketdienst mean, and why is it vom?

Vom is a contraction of von dem. It introduces the agent in a passive sentence.

  • von = “by” (in passive constructions)
  • dem = dative masculine/neuter definite article
    So vom Paketdienst literally means by the parcel service, with Paketdienst in the dative case.
Why is vom Paketdienst in the dative case?

In German passive sentences, if you want to mention the agent (the “doer”), you use von + dative. That’s why Paketdienst takes the dative ending (here marked by dem in vom).

Why does abgeholt appear at the end of the sentence?

German main clauses follow the rule that past participles (in passive or perfect constructions) go to the very end. The structure is:
Subject – finite verb (werden) – (other elements) – past participle (abgeholt).

What is the difference between am Morgen and simply Morgen or morgens?
  • am Morgen = an dem Morgen; used for a specific time in the morning (dative case).
  • morgens = adverb meaning “in the mornings” (generally/regularly).
  • Just Morgen without an article would usually be nominative, meaning “the next day.” To talk about “in the morning” one normally says am Morgen or morgens.
Could I switch the order to Zwei Pakete werden am Morgen vom Paketdienst abgeholt? Does word order matter?

Yes, you can. German allows adverbials of time and agent to move around, as long as the finite verb (werden) stays second and the past participle (abgeholt) stays last. All these versions are correct:

  1. Zwei Pakete werden vom Paketdienst am Morgen abgeholt.
  2. Zwei Pakete werden am Morgen vom Paketdienst abgeholt.
  3. Am Morgen werden zwei Pakete vom Paketdienst abgeholt.
Why is Pakete capitalized and why is it plural?

All German nouns are capitalized, so Pakete (the plural of Paket) always starts with a capital letter. It’s plural here because you’re talking about two packages (zwei triggers the plural form).

What’s the difference between abholen and holen?
  • holen = “to fetch” or “to get” (general).
  • abholen = “to pick up” or “to collect” from a place or person.
    Here, the parcel service doesn’t just fetch things from storage—they specifically pick up the packages (e.g., from your home), so abholen is the correct verb.
Can I say Beide Pakete werden vom Paketdienst am Morgen abgeholt instead of Zwei Pakete?

Yes, but there’s a nuance:

  • Zwei Pakete simply states the number.
  • Beide Pakete means both packages, implying you’ve already been talking about exactly two packages. So use beide if it’s clear which two you mean.