DutchThe mail from work says: Er zijn bij de planning fouten gemaakt. Mistakes were made in the planning. By whom? It doesn't say. That is exactly what the passive does: it's about what happens, not about who does it. Once you can handle it, the news, letters from the council and business mails become a lot easier to read.
Short answer: what something happens to comes first; then a form of worden, and the past participle at the end: De muur wordt geverfd (the wall is being painted). When it's already done, you use zijn: De muur is geverfd. To say who does it, add door, if you want to.
1 How to make the passive
Take a plain (active) sentence. What something happens to, the object, becomes the subject and moves to the front. The verb becomes worden plus the past participle:
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| De schilder verft de muur. | De muur wordt geverfd. |
| De aannemer verbouwt het kantoor. | Het kantoor wordt verbouwd. |
| De koerier bezorgt de pakketten. | De pakketten worden bezorgd. |
Watch the number: the new subject decides the form of worden. De muur wordt, but de muren worden. The past participle goes all the way to the end, as in the perfect tense.
Teacher's tip: Dutch uses worden (to become) where English uses "to be". De muur is geverfd is not "the wall is being painted" but "the wall has been painted". Being painted, right now: wordt.
2 Worden or zijn: the tenses
When it is happening, or was happening, you use worden. When it's done, you use zijn:
| Tense | Passive | In English |
|---|---|---|
| now | De muur wordt geverfd. | is being painted |
| then | De muur werd geverfd. | was painted (a story) |
| done (now) | De muur is geverfd. | has been painted |
| done (then) | De muur was geverfd. | had been painted |
| later | De muur zal worden geverfd. | formal; usually: wordt morgen geverfd |
Strictly, the perfect has geworden as well: de muur is geverfd geworden. It isn't wrong, but it sounds heavy and old-fashioned. In nearly every sentence you leave it out.
De deur wordt gesloten and de deur is gesloten look alike, but in the first someone is still pushing, in the second you can't get in any more.
3 Door: who does it
If you do want to say who does it, you add them with door. In a main clause that part usually sits between worden and the past participle:
- Het besluit wordt door de directie genomen. The decision is made by the management.
- De oude bureaus worden morgen door de gemeente opgehaald. The old desks are collected by the council tomorrow.
Often you leave it out, for three reasons: you don't know (mijn fiets is gestolen), it doesn't matter (de post wordt om tien uur bezorgd), or you'd rather not say (er zijn fouten gemaakt).
Teacher's tip: English "by" and German "von" tempt you into van. But het besluit van de directie means the decision belongs to the management. Who does it: door.
4 Er wordt gedanst: the passive without a subject
Sometimes it isn't about a thing something happens to, but about an activity in general. Then there is no subject, and you start with er. English has no real equivalent; you'd say "people are dancing" or "there's dancing":
- Er wordt gedanst. There's dancing.
- Tijdens de verbouwing wordt er thuisgewerkt. During the renovation people work from home.
- Er wordt gezegd dat de kantine dichtgaat. It is said (a rumour) that the canteen is closing.
With an indefinite subject you use er too: Er zijn fouten gemaakt, er worden nieuwe bureaus geleverd. With a definite one you don't: de fouten zijn gemaakt.
5 Moet worden ingevuld: with a modal verb
With moet, kan, mag or wil, the modal takes the verb's place, and worden and the past participle go to the end together:
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| Je moet het formulier invullen. | Het formulier moet worden ingevuld. |
| De gemeente kan de bureaus ophalen. | De bureaus kunnen worden opgehaald. |
The order at the end can go either way: moet worden ingevuld and moet ingevuld worden are both right. You
see the first more in writing, the second more in speech. Don't drop worden: het formulier moet ingevuld is
missing a verb.
6 When do the Dutch use it?
In conversation the Dutch use the passive less than English speakers do; they prefer ze or je: Ze verbouwen het kantoor. In writing and formal Dutch you see it a lot:
- News: Bij de brand werden drie mensen gered. It's about the people, not the fire brigade.
- Instructions and rules: Hier wordt niet gerookt. Het formulier moet worden ondertekend.
- Business mail: Uw aanvraag wordt zo snel mogelijk behandeld. Nobody promises it personally.
- When you'd rather not say who did it: Er zijn fouten gemaakt.
That's why some mails read like a riddle. Er is besloten dat er wordt bezuinigd. It has been decided that cuts will be made. By whom, and on whom? That isn't said. A good reader spots the passive and wonders who is behind the sentence.
Partner tip Play "What has happened here?". The partner points at something at home: the dishes, the bed, a new lamp. The learner says it in the passive: De afwas is gedaan. Het bed is opgemaakt. If something hasn't been done, it gets more fun: De vuilnis is niet buiten gezet. Door wie? Only listen for is or wordt and the past participle at the end; the answer to "by whom" may stay a secret.
Test yourself
Make it passive: De aannemer verbouwt het kantoor.
Het kantoor wordt (door de aannemer) verbouwd. Het kantoor moves to the front, wordt in second place, verbouwd at the end.
It's done: De koffieautomaat ... weggehaald.
De koffieautomaat is weggehaald. Done is zijn; leave out geworden.
Door or van? "Het pakket wordt ... de koerier bezorgd."
Door. Who does it comes with door. Van de koerier would mean the parcel is his.
Start with er: People work from home during the renovation.
Er wordt tijdens de verbouwing thuisgewerkt. Or: Tijdens de verbouwing wordt er thuisgewerkt.
With moet: Je moet het formulier vóór vrijdag invullen.
Het formulier moet vóór vrijdag worden ingevuld. Also right: ... ingevuld worden.
Does this work? "Ik word geslapen."
No. Slapen has no object. The general passive does work: Er wordt hier goed geslapen.
