Passive Alternatives: sein...zu, sich lassen
Passive Alternatives: sein...zu, sich lassen
German has two very common shortcuts for expressing what 'can' or 'must' be done to something, without ever building a werden-passive at all — both widely preferred in real usage over können/müssen + passive.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
sein + zu + infinitive: necessity or possibility, depending on context
Die Aufgabe ist zu erledigen. / Der Fehler ist leicht zu erkennen.
The task is to be done (must be done). / The mistake is easy to recognize (can easily be recognized).
sein is conjugated normally in position two, and zu + infinitive goes to the end, exactly like a modal passive's word order — but there's no modal verb and no werden anywhere. Whether the meaning leans toward 'must' or 'can' depends on context and any accompanying adverb: leicht zu ('easy to', suggesting possibility) nudges toward a können-reading, while sofort zu ('immediately to', suggesting urgency) nudges toward a müssen-reading. This construction is extremely common in instructions, official notices, and written German generally.
sich lassen + infinitive: 'can be done', an active-looking substitute for können + passive
Das Problem lässt sich lösen. (The problem can be solved.)
The problem can be solved.
This construction is grammatically active and reflexive — the subject (das Problem) is technically the thing the action is being done to, not an agent performing lassen — but its meaning is identical to Das Problem kann gelöst werden. English has no equivalent structure at all: there's no way to make 'the problem lets itself solve' sound natural, so this is a case where you simply have to accept a German pattern that doesn't map onto any English sentence shape, and recognize sich lassen + infinitive on sight as meaning 'can be done'.
The -bar suffix: a closely related adjectival option
lösbar, essbar, sichtbar (solvable, edible, visible)
solvable, edible, visible
Attaching -bar directly to a verb stem creates an adjective meaning 'able to be [verb]ed' — lösen → lösbar, essen → essbar, sehen → sichtbar. This is a close structural parallel to English's own -able/-ible suffix (solve → solvable), so it's usually the easiest of these three alternatives for an English speaker to guess and remember, even though it isn't productive with every verb the way sich lassen is.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ist zu erledigen | ist tsoo air-LAY-di-gen | is to be done |
| ist zu erkennen | ist tsoo air-KEN-en | can be recognized |
| lässt sich lösen | lest zikh LUR-zen | can be solved |
| lässt sich machen | lest zikh MAH-khen | can be done |
| lässt sich reparieren | lest zikh reh-pah-REE-ren | can be repaired |
| lösbar | LUR-zbar | solvable |
| essbar | ES-bar | edible |
| sichtbar | ZIKHT-bar | visible |
| machbar | MAHKH-bar | feasible/doable |
| erreichbar | air-RYKH-bar | reachable/attainable |