Breakdown of Wordt chronische vermoeidheid vaak door de respondenten gerapporteerd?
vaak
often
worden
to become
door
by (agent in a passive sentence)
de respondent
the respondent
Questions & Answers about Wordt chronische vermoeidheid vaak door de respondenten gerapporteerd?
Why is wordt used here instead of is to mean 'is ... reported'?
In Dutch, the passive voice for a general or ongoing action uses the verb worden (here, wordt). The verb zijn (is) is used for the perfect passive, which focuses on a completed state. Because this question asks if something is generally reported rather than if it has been reported in the past, we use wordt ... gerapporteerd.
Why does the adverb vaak come before door de respondenten?
Adverbs of time and frequency like vaak typically appear early in the middle of a Dutch sentence, right after the subject (chronische vermoeidheid). The phrase indicating who performs the action (door de respondenten) is closely related to the verb, so it naturally sits further back, right before the past participle (gerapporteerd).
Why does the adjective chronisch get an -e ending here?
Because vermoeidheid is a de-word. All Dutch nouns ending in the suffix -heid (which is similar to '-ness' or '-ty' in English) are de-words. When an adjective comes before a de-word, it almost always gets an -e at the end, making it chronische vermoeidheid.
What is the function of door in this sentence?