Getting cold, tired, or older with 'werden'
In English, we rely on several different verbs to describe a change of state. We might say that someone is "getting" tired, "falling" ill, "growing" old, or that a dream is "coming" true.
German makes this much simpler. To express a change in condition, you usually only need one verb: werden (to become). When you combine werden with an adjective, you can translate dozens of English change-of-state expressions.
When you use werden with an adjective, the adjective describes the subject but does not stand right next to a noun. Therefore, you just use its basic dictionary form without any special endings.
This is the standard way to talk about temperature, health, and energy levels.
English often uses "grow" or "get" for processes that happen over time. In German, you pair werden with adjectives like alt, erwachsen, or comparative adjectives to describe these gradual changes.
Physical reactions and abstract concepts also follow this rule. If someone loses consciousness, they turn pale (blass werden or bleich werden) or pass out entirely (ohnmächtig werden or bewusstlos werden). If an abstract concept becomes real, it might come to life (lebendig werden) or come true (wahr werden).
When the change of state is already complete, you will need the perfect tense. Because werden describes a change of condition, it always forms its perfect tense with sein (to be) rather than haben (to have).
The past participle of werden as a main verb is geworden. Make sure to use geworden and not the passive voice auxiliary worden.
Whenever you want to express that someone or something is "getting", "growing", or "turning" into a certain state, use werden plus the base form of the adjective. If the change has already happened, remember to use ist with the past participle geworden.