Breakdown of Lantaarnpalen moeten goed worden onderhouden, zodat ze niet vallen.
niet
not
vallen
to fall
goed
good
moeten
to have to, must
Questions & Answers about Lantaarnpalen moeten goed worden onderhouden, zodat ze niet vallen.
How does the passive voice work with moeten in this sentence?
In Dutch, to form the present passive with a modal verb like moeten (must), you use the conjugated modal verb, plus worden (to be), plus the past participle of the main action verb. Here, moeten is the conjugated verb in the second position, and worden onderhouden translates to 'be maintained'.
Why are the verbs worden and onderhouden placed at the very end of the first clause?
In a Dutch main clause, the conjugated verb (moeten) takes the second position. Any other verbs in the clause are pushed together to the very end. Here, those extra verbs are the passive helper verb worden and the past participle onderhouden.
Why doesn't the past participle onderhouden get a ge- added to it?
Verbs that start with inseparable prefixes like onder-, be-, ver-, or ont- do not get the ge- prefix when forming the past participle. Because onderhouden starts with onder-, its past participle form is exactly the same as its infinitive: onderhouden.
Why does the verb vallen go at the end of the second clause?