Are you confused about the difference between Passieren und Stattfinden? This article will help you understand between these two words & how to use them correctly in German.
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Passieren VS Stattfinden in German
While communicating in German, especially in the case of non-native speakers, one may get confused about using similar verbs and end up using the wrong.
One such confusing verb is “Passieren” und “Stattfinden” where non-native speakers use these interchangeably. There is a subtle difference between the usage of these in german language, so let’s see about this in detail.
Usage of German verb “passieren”
While having a conversation in German language, “passieren” verb is one of those common words that you will frequently use. In German, word “passieren” means “to happen,” “to pass by” or “to occur.”
As it is a regular verb, it follows fixed endings of verb conjugation. In past perfect tense, it uses the auxiliary verb “haben”.
Other words that are often used to express the same meaning with sophistication as “passieren” are “vorkommen,” or “geschehen.”
When “passieren” verb is used to show something that happened, it refers to unexpected events that we didn’t plan to happen, yet they happened.
Let’s see some examples of german verb “passieren”:
Ein Unfall kann jederzeit passieren. →(An accident can happen at any time.)
Was ist mit dem Restgeld passiert? → (What happened to the money left?)
Es ist nicht sicher, dass es passieren wird.→( (It is not certain that it will happen.)
Was glauben Sie, wird passieren?→(What do you think will happen?)
Usage of German verb “stattfinden”
English translation of the German verb “stattfinden” is “to take place” (something which is planned like a meeting, birthday party, etc.).
It is a Trennbare Verben (means separable words) and irregular in verb conjugation. German verb “stattfinden” is derived from verb “finden”. It becomes “fand statt” in Präteritum and “hat stattgefunden” in Perfekt.
Let’s see some examples of German verb “stattfinden”:
Wann findet
die Party statt
?→(When will the party take place?)
Die Konferenz findet in Hamburg statt. →(The conference takes place in Hamburg.)
Die Deutschprüfung hat am Samstag stattgefunden. → (The German exam took place on Saturday.)
Conclusion: Passieren VS Stattfinden
I hope that the above article has cleared all your confusion related to the difference between Passieren und Stattfinden. If you still feel confused about the usage of Passieren and Stattfinden then answer these 2 questions:
Does the event take place without planning or spontaneously? If yes then use “passieren”
Does planning happen for the event to take place?(pre-panned) If yes then use “Stattfinden”
Read More: Use of nach, nachdem, and danach in German
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