In a normal (active) sentence the subject does something: De monteur repareert de auto (the mechanic repairs the car). In the passive you turn it around. The car comes first: De auto wordt gerepareerd. You no longer have to say who does it.
In Dutch the passive is called the lijdende vorm. It is very common in official Dutch. A letter from the gemeente (your local council) might say: Uw aanvraag wordt behandeld (your application is being processed).
How to build the passive
You need two parts. A form of worden or zijn, plus a past participle. You already know past participles from the perfect tense: gemaakt (made), betaald (paid), gerepareerd (repaired).
Active: who does it?
- De monteur repareert de auto.
- De gemeente stuurt de brief.
Passive: what happens?
- De auto wordt gerepareerd.
- De brief wordt gestuurd.
Want to say who does it after all? Use door (by): De brief wordt door de gemeente gestuurd. Often you leave it out. It does not matter, or you do not know.
Wordt, werd or is?
The helper verb depends on the time. Also check whether it is about one thing or more than one.
| Time | One thing | More than one | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| now, or always | wordt | worden | is / are being | De auto wordt gewassen. |
| in the past | werd | werden | was / were | De auto werd gisteren gewassen. |
| finished | is | zijn | has / have been | De auto is al gewassen. |
The other words in the sentence usually give you a hint. With nu (now), op dit moment (at the moment) or elke dag (every day): wordt or worden. With gisteren (yesterday) or vorige week (last week): werd or werden. With al (already), net (just) or inmiddels (by now): is or zijn.
Worden or zijn: in progress or done?
This is the choice most learners find hardest. With worden someone is still busy. With zijn the job is done and you see the result.
In progress: worden
- De deur wordt geverfd. (Someone is painting it right now.)
- De brief wordt verstuurd. (It is going out now.)
Finished: zijn
- De deur is geverfd. (The paint is on.)
- De brief is verstuurd. (It has gone.)
Werd or is for something in the past?
English says "was closed in 2000". Dutch can use either form here. De fabriek werd in 2000 gesloten. De fabriek is in 2000 gesloten. Both are correct.
Werd tells what happened back then. Is mostly says that it is done. In the practice below, every sentence has a time word. If it says gisteren or vorige week, choose werd or werden.
Where do the verbs go?
- In a normal sentence the helper is in position 2. The past participle goes to the end: De straat wordt vandaag schoongemaakt.
- In a subordinate clause both go to the end: Ik weet dat de straat vandaag wordt schoongemaakt.