Passive Voice - Stative Passive (Zustandspassiv)

The passive voice with werden (Vorgangspassiv) refers to the process of an action; it indicates that an action is taking place. The resulting state of this action can be indicated with a different version of the passive voice called the Stative Passive (Zustandspassiv). This form uses sein instead of werden as its auxiliary verb.

Zustandspassiv

The Zustandspassiv is constructed similar to the Vorgangspassiv, the verb sein is simply used instead of werden. For example:

Das Fenster ist zerbrochen.
  The window is broken.

Transitive verbs that are legal in the Vorgangspassiv can typically be used in the Zustandspassiv and vice versa. The Zustandspassiv, however, tends to prefer verbs that result in a clear end state, such as:

zerstören to destroy
öffnen to open
schließen to close
decken to cover
verbinden to connect

Vorgangspassiv vs Zustandspassiv

The difference between the two passive voice forms can perhaps best be seen with an example:

  Der Tresor war verschlossen, aber wir haben nicht gesehen, wie er verschlossen wurde.
  The safe was locked but we did not see how it was locked.

In the first instance, the state of the safe is being discussed. The process of locking the safe was completed and the safe reached a condition of being "locked". The next instance concentrates on the process of locking the safe, namely how it was done. The safe has somehow reached a state of being locked, but this process was not observed. 

As the Vorgangspassiv discusses a process, it often relates to the English progressive aspect, but this is never true for the Zustandspassiv. For example, the English sentence: 

  The product is being packed.

Can be translated as:

  Die Ware wird verpackt.

But cannot be translated as: 

  Die Ware ist verpackt.

This loses the implication of a process, which the English progressive aspect and Vorgangspassiv possess. Instead, this sentence indicates that this process is complete and the product is now packed. Thus, it would be an acceptable translation for: 

  The product has been packed.

Tenses and Moods

Typically, only a few tenses and moods are used with the Zustandspassiv. These are:

Present

  Die Tür ist verriegelt.
  The door is locked.

 [sein in Present] + [past participle]
Simple Past

  Das Fenster war geschlossen.
  The window was closed.

 [sein in Simple Past] + [past participle]
Present Perfect

  Das Fenster ist geschlossen gewesen.
  The window was closed.

 [sein in Present] + [past participle] + gewesen

The Zustandspassiv and the past tenses of the Vorgangspassiv both point to the resulting state of an action and are thus often very close in meaning. For example, the first two above constructions could be written in the Vorgangspassiv as:

  Die Tür ist verriegelt worden.
  Das Fenster war zerstört worden.

The Imperative form with sein is preferred over werden in the passive voice: 

  Sei gegrüßt.
  Greetings. (Or: (You shall) Be greeted.)

A full list can be seen here.

Continuous State 

Typically, the Zustandspassiv relates to the result of a process, but it can also refer to a current and lasting state. 

  Die Insel ist bewohnt.
  The island is inhabitated.

The agent cannot normally be indicated in the Zustandspassiv, but it is acceptable to do so with a continuous state. 

  Die Insel ist von Elfen bewohnt.

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