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### The Present Passive Voice

The passive voice is used when the focus of a sentence is on the *receiver* of an action rather than the *doer*. It is especially useful when describing industrial processes, manufacturing, or general procedures where the person performing the action is unknown or unimportant.

To form the present passive voice in Dutch, use the present tense of **worden** as your auxiliary verb, paired with a **past participle**.

| Subject | Form of **worden** |
| --- | --- |
| ik | word |
| jij / u | wordt |
| hij / zij / het | wordt |
| wij / jullie / zij | worden |

Just like in other compound tenses, the auxiliary verb (**worden**) takes the second position in a main clause, and the past participle is sent to the very end.

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### Passive Subordinate Clauses

Remember that in a subordinate clause (such as one starting with **omdat**), all verbs are pushed to the end. In a passive subordinate clause, the conjugated form of **worden** and the past participle will sit together at the end of the sentence.

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### Questions in the Passive Voice

In a question, the auxiliary verb moves to the front of the sentence (or directly after a question word), but the past participle remains firmly at the end of the clause.

{{item:800838}}

### Combining Passive Actions

When describing a sequence of steps happening to the exact same subject, you do not need to repeat the subject or the auxiliary verb **worden**. You can simply link the past participles together.

{{item:800842}}

The present passive voice (worden)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

determiner/pronoun

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular pronouns and 'to be' (ik ben, hij is)

The formal 'you' (u bent)

Definite articles (de, het)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (wij zijn)

The verb 'to have' (hebben)

Basic word order

Numbers 1 to 10 (een, twee, drie)

Verb stems and the 'I' form (ik werk)

Long vowels in verb stems (maken, ik maak)

Short vowels in verb stems (zitten, ik zit)

Present tense singular (-t)

Present tense plural (-en)

Yes/no questions

Question words (wie, wat, waar)

Noun negation (geen)

Plural nouns (-en)

Plural nouns (-s)

Diminutives (-je)

Adjective modifiers (heel, erg, te)

Verb negation (niet)

Singular possessives (mijn, jouw, zijn, haar)

Plural and formal possessives (ons/onze, jullie, hun, uw)

This and these (deze, dit)

That and those (die, dat)

Asking which (welke, welk)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elf, twaalf, dertien...)

Tens and compound numbers (dertig, veertig...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (eerste, tweede...)

Telling time: hours and half hours (uur, half)

Telling time: quarters (kwart over, kwart voor)

Question words (hoeveel, waarom)

Irregular verbs (doen, gaan, staan, zien, komen)

Adjective endings (+e)

Adjectives with 'het' words

Prepositions of place (uit, bij)

Subject-verb inversion

Time before place

Modal verbs (willen, kunnen)

Modal verbs (moeten, mogen)

The verb bracket

Separable prefix verbs

The imperative mood (kom, luister)

Singular object pronouns (mij, jou, hem, haar)

Plural and formal object pronouns (ons, jullie, hen, u)

Reflexive verbs and pronouns (zich, me, je)

Position of negation (niet)

The present perfect tense with regular verbs (hebben gewerkt)

The present perfect tense with motion verbs (zijn gegaan)

Irregular past participles (gezien, gedaan)

The present continuous (zijn aan het)

There is / there are (er is, er zijn)

Unstressed there (er)

And, but, or (en, maar, of)

Because (want)

Months of the year

Prepositions of time (om, van ... tot)

Greetings and politeness

Conversational glue

Prepositions with days (op)

Prepositions with seasons (in)

Genitive of time ('s morgens, 's nachts)

Adverbs of frequency (altijd, vaak)

The future tense (gaan)

The future tense (zullen)

Separable verbs with auxiliary verbs

Apostrophe plurals ('-s)

Irregular plurals (-eren)

Complex diminutives (-pje, -etje, -kje)

Possessive 's (Jan's, vaders)

Indefinite pronouns (iets, niemand, alles)

Indefinite subject pronoun (je)

Reciprocal pronoun (elkaar)

Comparative adjectives (-er dan)

Comparatives with spelling change (-der)

Superlative adjectives (-st)

Irregular comparisons (beter, meer, minder)

Expressing preference (graag, liever, het liefst)

Equality comparisons (even ... als)

Fixed prepositions

That clauses (dat)

Because clauses (omdat)

If and when clauses (als)

Inversion after clauses

Separable verbs in clauses

Negation in clauses (niet)

Past tense of to be (was / waren)

Past tense of to have (had / hadden)

Question	Answer
the material	het materiaal
to produce	produceren
The material is produced in the factory.	Het materiaal wordt in de fabriek geproduceerd.
the steel	het staal
to melt	smelten
Today the steel is melted.	Vandaag wordt het staal gesmolten.
the process	het proces
to cut	snijden
In this process the steel is cut.	In dit proces wordt het staal gesneden.
the part	het onderdeel
to assemble	monteren
Afterwards the parts are assembled.	Daarna worden de onderdelen gemonteerd.
to transport	vervoeren
The process stops because the material is being transported.	Het proces stopt omdat het materiaal wordt vervoerd.
How is this product produced?	Hoe wordt dit product geproduceerd?
You do not cut the material, but it is melted.	Je snijdt het materiaal niet, maar het wordt gesmolten.
to pack	verpakken
The part is safely packed.	Het onderdeel wordt veilig verpakt.
The products are packed and then transported.	De producten worden verpakt en daarna vervoerd.
The small part is mounted in the machine.	Het kleine onderdeel wordt in de machine gemonteerd.
This is the process that we had changed.	Dit is het proces dat we hadden veranderd.
You wait because the material is being cut.	Je wacht omdat het materiaal wordt gesneden.