Breakdown of Het riool moet vandaag worden geïnspecteerd.
vandaag
today
moeten
to have to, must
worden
to become
het riool
the sewer
inspecteren
to inspect
Questions & Answers about Het riool moet vandaag worden geïnspecteerd.
How does the passive voice work with a modal verb like moet in this sentence?
In Dutch, when you combine a modal verb (like moet, meaning must) with the passive voice, you use the infinitive worden (to be) along with the past participle (geïnspecteerd). The modal verb takes the second position in the sentence, and both worden and the past participle are pushed to the very end.
Is the order of worden and geïnspecteerd at the end of the sentence strict?
No, it is actually flexible! In a sentence like this, you can put the past participle before or after the infinitive at the end. Both worden geïnspecteerd and geïnspecteerd worden are perfectly correct.
Why does geïnspecteerd have two dots (a trema) on the i?
The trema is used to show where a new syllable starts. Without it, the prefix ge- and the i in inspecteren would look like the Dutch vowel combination ei (as in trein). The dots tell you to pronounce the letters separately: ge-in-spec-teerd.
How do I know whether geïnspecteerd ends in a -d or a -t?
You can use the 't kofschip rule here. Look at the verb stem of inspecteren, which is inspecteer. The final letter is r. Since r is not one of the consonants in 't kofschip, the past participle gets a -d at the end.
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