Breakdown of In het verslag wordt de rol van elke speler passief beschreven.
in
in
elke
every
van
of
het verslag
the report
de speler
the player
beschreven worden
to be described
de rol
the role
passief
passive
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Questions & Answers about In het verslag wordt de rol van elke speler passief beschreven.
Why is wordt used here, and what does it indicate?
Wordt is the third-person singular present tense of worden, the auxiliary verb used to form the dynamic passive in Dutch. Together with the past participle beschreven, wordt beschreven means “is described” (present passive).
What is the function of passief in passief beschreven?
Here passief functions as an adverb (though it looks like an adjective) that modifies the participle beschreven, showing the manner of description. In English it’s like saying “described passively.”
Why does wordt come before de rol, and why is beschreven at the end?
Dutch main‐clause word order is V2: the finite verb (wordt) must occupy the second position. Since the sentence begins with the adverbial In het verslag, the subject (de rol van elke speler) follows the verb. All non-finite verb forms (like the past participle beschreven) then move to the clause’s end.
Who or what is the grammatical subject of this passive sentence?
In a passive, the former direct object becomes the grammatical subject. Here de rol is the subject being described. The true agent (the writer, researcher, etc.) is omitted.
Why is it van elke speler instead of door elke speler to indicate whose role it is?
Van elke speler means “of each player,” marking possession (the player’s role). Door marks the agent in a passive (“by someone”), but here we aren’t saying “by each player,” we’re saying “the role belonging to each player.”
How would you include the agent in this sentence, e.g. “by the author”?
You add door + agent at the end:
In het verslag wordt de rol van elke speler passief beschreven door de auteur.
Now it reads, “In the report, the role of each player is described passively by the author.”
What tenses can you use for the passive voice in Dutch? Could this sentence be in the past?
You can form several passive tenses in Dutch:
- Present passive: wordt beschreven (“is described”)
- Past passive (imperfect): werd beschreven (“was described”)
- Perfect passive: is beschreven (“has been described”)
- Future passive: zal beschreven worden (“will be described”)
What does verslag mean, and how is it used here?
Verslag is a noun meaning “report,” “account,” or “record.” Common uses include een verslag maken (“to write a report”) or in het verslag (“in the report”), as in this sentence setting the context for what follows.