Breakdown of Deze machine werd in de achtste eeuw uitgevonden.
in
in
deze
this / these
achtste
eighth (8th)
worden
to become
Questions & Answers about Deze machine werd in de achtste eeuw uitgevonden.
Why do we use werd here instead of the Dutch word was?
In English, we form the passive voice with the verb "to be" (was/were). However, Dutch uses the verb worden (to become/be) to describe passive actions. Since the invention happened in the past, we use the simple past tense of worden, which is werd for a singular subject like Deze machine.
Why is uitgevonden placed at the very end of the sentence?
This follows the standard Dutch word order for sentences with more than one verb. The conjugated auxiliary verb (werd) takes the second position in the sentence, and the past participle (uitgevonden) is pushed to the very end.
Wait, the verb is uitvinden. Why is the ge- in the middle of uitgevonden?
Uitvinden (to invent) is a separable verb made of the prefix uit and the verb vinden. When you form the past participle of a separable verb, the -ge- gets sandwiched between the prefix and the main verb. That gives us uit + ge + vonden = uitgevonden.
Why does the sentence use achtste instead of just acht?