Use the passive voice to emphasize what happened rather than who did it. This is especially useful for historical events.
To form the simple past passive in Dutch, use the simple past of the auxiliary verb worden (to become) along with a past participle.
| Pronoun | Form of worden |
|---|---|
| ik, jij, u, hij, zij, het | werd |
| wij, jullie, zij | werden |
Stating "By Whom" with door
In a standard main clause, werd or werden takes the second position, and the past participle is pushed all the way to the end. If you want to include who performed the action, use the preposition door (by).
| The castle was built by the king. | Het kasteel werd door de koning gebouwd. |
| The towers were designed by the king. | De torens werden door de koning ontworpen. |
Adding Time and Details
When describing history, you will often add details about when or why something happened. The past participle stays at the very end, effectively framing all the extra information.
| The museum was founded in the ninth century. | Het museum werd in de negende eeuw opgericht. |
| The bridge was destroyed in the war. | De brug werd in de oorlog verwoest. |
Questions and Sentence Order
Just like with other verbs, making a yes/no question in the passive voice means moving werd or werden to the front of the sentence. Question words like door wie (by whom) keep the verb in the second position.
| Was the city liberated in the previous century? | Werd de stad in de vorige eeuw bevrijd? |
| By whom was the computer invented? | Door wie werd de computer uitgevonden? |
If you start your sentence with a subordinate clause (like "Because the king fled..."), standard inversion rules apply. The main clause will immediately start with the verb werd or werden.
| Because the king fled, the city was conquered by the army. | Omdat de koning vluchtte, werd de stad door het leger veroverd. |