"Die Eltern werden durch die Schule beraten."

Translation: The parents are advised through the school.

[greenfire315]

How do you know it is not the future tense?

[KyleGoetz]

How do we know this is the passive present?

[mjtischer]

Why is "werden" used here instead of "sind"?

[christian]

That's just how the passive voice works.

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~german/Grammatik/Passive/Passiv.html

[mjtischer]

Thanks Christian, you oracle you.

[ran_g]

Now i'm confused. beraten can be both active (to give advise) and passive (to be advised). So werden beraten could mean both will advise or were advised.

Is the above correct and the meaning is only context-dependent?

[christian]

You're right, but Duolingo's sentence is passive only. "durch die Schule" (by the school) gives it away.

[aileigc]

Ok, so here "durch" gives it away. But I was looking at it, and not knowing the passive, I only saw a future there. I deduced it should be a passive because it was the only meaning that made sense. In general, if we don't have a durch, how can we distinguish them? only by context?

[christian]

Yes, you'd have to go by context. This sentence is a bit of an exception, though. Usually, the participle is not the same as the infinitive.

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~german/Grammatik/Passive/Passiv.html

[jaye16]

"...will be advised..." is accepted.

[cephalium]

'through the school'. What does that mean? "throughout school" is maybe what DL had in mind? I am not sure. Please advise.

[christian]

durch die Schule = by the school

[cephalium]

Thanks. Quite a different meaning when you consider 'school' to mean 'school system'. Same differences in both languages.

[piffany]

Argh, consistency, Duolingo! Earlier there was an example (in another lesson) where "werden beraten" was translated as "will get advised", while "be advised" was marked wrong. Now it's the other way around.

[thepavand]

Duo's strategy of letting us know there is ambiguity in "werden" this way is really counterproductive. Let us think werden only means future tense till we come up passive voice. It's fine. Sky won't fall. Now it's just confusing, and teaches nothing.

[Jason278411]

I deleted my earlier, more emotional response, to my first encounter with this lesson. Jetzt brauche ich ein bier.