Breakdown of Het boek moet door een uitgever worden uitgegeven.
een
a/an
het boek
the book
moeten
to have to, must
worden
to become
door
by (agent in a passive sentence)
de uitgever
the publisher
uitgeven
to publish
Questions & Answers about Het boek moet door een uitgever worden uitgegeven.
Why do we use door before een uitgever?
In passive sentences, the person or thing actually doing the action is introduced by the preposition door. It translates to "by" in this context, showing us exactly who must publish the book.
Why are the verbs worden and uitgegeven placed at the very end of the sentence?
The verb moet (must) is a modal verb, which always forces all other verbs to the end of the clause. Because this is a passive sentence, we need both the passive helping verb worden (to be) and the past participle uitgegeven (published) together at the end.
Does worden have to come before uitgegeven?
No, you can actually say uitgegeven worden as well. When a passive helping verb and a past participle both end up at the end of a sentence, their order is flexible. Both options are completely correct and natural in Dutch.
How are the words uitgever and uitgegeven related?
They both come from the separable verb uitgeven, which literally translates as "to give out" but is used to mean publishing a book or spending money. An uitgever is the noun for the person or company doing it (a publisher), and uitgegeven is the past participle (published).
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