Passive Sentences with Indirect Objects
In English, when someone is given, offered, or refused something, that person usually becomes the subject of a passive sentence (e.g., "I am offered a drink").
In Dutch, this is not allowed. The indirect object (the person receiving the action) must remain an object pronoun, such as mij, hem, haar, or ons.
The actual grammatical subject of the Dutch sentence is the thing being given or offered. Because these sentences often start with the person to emphasize who is affected, it translates literally as "To me is a cocktail offered."
| I am offered a cocktail in the casino. | Mij wordt in het casino een cocktail aangeboden. |
Because the thing is the subject, the verb must agree with it. If the item is plural (like casino chips), the verb must be plural (worden), even if the person receiving them is a single individual (hem).
| He is given the chips by the croupier. | Hem worden de fiches door de croupier gegeven. |
Refusals and Advice
This structure is very common with verbs like weigeren (to refuse/deny) and afraden (to advise against). Notice how the object pronouns sit comfortably at the front of the sentence.
| We are denied access to roulette. | Ons wordt de toegang tot de roulette geweigerd. |
| She is advised against gambling recklessly. | Haar wordt afgeraden om roekeloos te gokken. |
This rule applies to all indirect object pronouns, including jullie (you all).
| You are promised nothing if you gamble recklessly. | Jullie wordt niets beloofd als jullie roekeloos gokken. |
Past Tense Dative Passives
To talk about what happened earlier in the night, simply change wordt/worden to the past tense werd/werden. Remember, the verb still agrees with the thing being given or denied, not the person receiving it!
| I was advised against roulette by the croupier. | Mij werd de roulette afgeraden door de croupier. |
| He was given a thousand euros after he had won the jackpot. | Hem werd duizend euro gegeven nadat hij de jackpot had gewonnen. |
