Welcome to this deck on Higher Tier German grammar. We will cover two important topics for expressing more complex ideas: the passive voice, used when the focus is on the action rather than the person doing it, and the subjunctive mood, or Konjunktiv II, which is essential for making polite requests and talking about hypothetical situations.

First, let's look at the passive voice. In a normal, or active, sentence, the subject performs the action. For example, 'Der Mechaniker repariert das Auto' means 'The mechanic repairs the car'. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action. The focus shifts to the car: 'Das Auto wird repariert' means 'The car is being repaired'. In German, you form the passive using a form of the verb 'werden' plus the past participle of the main verb.

To form the passive in the present tense, you use the present tense of 'werden' with the past participle. For example, 'Das Fenster wird geöffnet' means 'The window is being opened'. If you want to say who is performing the action, you use the preposition 'von' followed by the dative case. For instance, 'Das Fenster wird von dem Mann geöffnet' means 'The window is being opened by the man'.