Word
De set moet schoongemaakt worden voor de volgende scène.
Meaning
The set must be cleaned for the next scene.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of De set moet schoongemaakt worden voor de volgende scène.
moeten
to have to, must
schoonmaken
to clean
voor
for (on behalf of)
worden
to become
Questions & Answers about De set moet schoongemaakt worden voor de volgende scène.
Why does this sentence use worden instead of zijn after the past participle?
This is a dynamic passive. Using moet ... worden means the physical action of cleaning needs to take place. If you used zijn to say De set moet schoongemaakt zijn, it would be a stative passive focusing on the result: the set must already be in a clean state by the time the scene starts, regardless of when the cleaning actually happens.
Could I change the word order at the end to moet worden schoongemaakt?
Yes, you can. In a Dutch verb cluster at the end of a clause, the past participle (schoongemaakt) and the infinitive (worden) can go in either order. Both schoongemaakt worden and worden schoongemaakt are correct and widely used.
As a quick refresher, why is the ge- in the middle of schoongemaakt?
Because schoonmaken (to clean) is a separable verb made of schoon (clean) and maken (to make). When forming the past participle of any separable verb, the ge- prefix gets sandwiched directly between the separable part and the core verb.
Does voor in this sentence translate to 'for' or 'before'?
It conveniently means both! In Dutch, voor handles both the purpose ('for the next scene') and the time aspect ('before the next scene'). You do not need to choose between them like you might in English.