Breakdown of Er werden veel dorpen door de soldaten verwoest.
veel
much / many / a lot of
het dorp
the village
worden
to become
er
there (existential)
Questions & Answers about Er werden veel dorpen door de soldaten verwoest.
How does the past passive voice work in this sentence?
To form the simple past passive, Dutch uses the past tense of worden (to become or be) plus a past participle. Here, we use the plural werden (were) and the past participle verwoest (destroyed) to mean were destroyed.
Why does this sentence start with Er?
When the subject of a passive sentence is indefinite, like veel dorpen (many villages) instead of specific villages, Dutch usually adds er (there) at the beginning. It is similar to saying 'there were many villages destroyed' in English.
Why is verwoest at the very end of the sentence?
In a Dutch main clause with multiple verbs, the conjugated verb werden takes the second position, while the past participle verwoest is pushed to the very end of the sentence.
How is the word door used here?
In passive sentences, the person or group doing the action is introduced by the preposition door (by or through). So, 'by the soldiers' translates to door de soldaten.