The Present Perfect Passive Voice
The passive voice focuses on the action or its receiver rather than who performs it. Use the present perfect passive for completed actions (translated to English as "has been" or "have been").
To form the present perfect passive in Dutch, use the conjugated auxiliary verb zijn (is or zijn) and a past participle.
Important: In English, we say "has been demolished." In Dutch, you completely omit the equivalent word (geworden). You literally say "The building is demolished."
| The old building has been demolished. | Het oude gebouw is gesloopt. |
| The roundabout has recently been renewed. | De rotonde is onlangs vernieuwd. |
Singular and Plural
Use is for singular subjects and zijn for plural subjects. The past participle always goes at the end of the clause.
| The intersection has been closed off. | Het kruispunt is afgesloten. |
| The broken lamps have been replaced. | De kapotte lampen zijn vervangen. |
Word Order in Subclauses and Questions
In a question, the auxiliary verb (is or zijn) swaps places with the subject. The past participle remains at the end.
| Why has the highway been closed off? | Waarom is de snelweg afgesloten? |
In a subordinate clause (like one starting with dat), all verbs move to the end of the sentence.
| I see that the factory has been demolished. | Ik zie dat de fabriek is gesloopt. |
Contrast: Present Perfect vs. Simple Past Passive
Be careful not to confuse the present perfect passive ("has been done") with the simple past passive ("was done").
- Present Perfect Passive: uses zijn (is / zijn) + past participle.
- Simple Past Passive: uses worden in the past tense (werd / werden) + past participle.
Notice the difference in time frames and auxiliary verbs:
| The bicycle path has been constructed this week. | Het fietspad is deze week aangelegd. |
| The highway was closed off yesterday. | De snelweg werd gisteren afgesloten. |