Word
Door wie werd de computer uitgevonden?
Meaning
By whom was the computer invented?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Door wie werd de computer uitgevonden?
wie
who
worden
to become
de computer
the computer
door
by (agent in a passive sentence)
Questions & Answers about Door wie werd de computer uitgevonden?
Why do we use werd here instead of was?
In Dutch, the passive voice for an action is formed with the auxiliary verb worden (to become), not zijn (to be). The word werd is the simple past tense of worden. Together with the past participle uitgevonden, it forms the simple past passive, meaning was invented.
Where does the ge go in the past participle uitgevonden?
The infinitive is uitvinden (to invent), which is a separable verb made of uit and vinden. When forming the past participle of a separable verb, the ge- prefix gets squeezed between the separable prefix and the core verb. Since the past participle of vinden is gevonden, adding uit gives us uitgevonden.
Why is the word order werd de computer uitgevonden rather than werd uitgevonden de computer?
In a Dutch main clause, the conjugated verb (werd) always takes the second position. Because this is a question starting with the question phrase Door wie, the conjugated verb comes right after it. Any other verbs in the sentence, like the past participle uitgevonden, are pushed to the very end.
Why does the sentence start with Door?