Breakdown of Het onderhoud aan de kerk kan volgende week worden afgemaakt.
de week
the week
kunnen
can
worden
to become
aan
on / at (attached to, edge)
de kerk
the church
volgend
next
afmaken
to finish
het onderhoud
the maintenance
Questions & Answers about Het onderhoud aan de kerk kan volgende week worden afgemaakt.
Why are there two verbs, worden and afgemaakt, at the end of this sentence?
This is how you form the passive voice with a modal verb. The modal verb kan takes the normal second position in the sentence. To complete the passive voice, you need the infinitive verb worden and the past participle afgemaakt grouped together at the very end.
Can I change the verb order at the end and say afgemaakt worden?
Yes! When a past participle (afgemaakt) and an infinitive (worden) appear together at the end of a sentence, their order is flexible. Both worden afgemaakt and afgemaakt worden are perfectly correct and natural.
Why is the preposition aan used here instead of op?
When you talk about doing work, repairs, or maintenance on an object or building in Dutch, you use aan. Saying op de kerk would literally mean the workers are standing on top of the church roof, whereas aan focuses on the structure receiving the work.
I see afgemaakt has ge in the middle. Is it a separable verb?
Exactly! The infinitive is afmaken (to finish), which is a separable verb made of af + maken. To form its past participle, the ge is sandwiched right between the prefix and the root verb, giving you afgemaakt.
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