Passive sentences are extremely common in Dutch:
De brief wordt morgen verstuurd.
The letter will be sent tomorrow.
Het huis is in 1920 gebouwd.
The house was built in 1920.
Er wordt hier veel Nederlands gesproken.
Dutch is spoken here a lot.
Het formulier moet online worden ingevuld.
The form must be completed online.
The Dutch passive can seem complicated at first because English usually forms passive sentences with a form of to be, whereas Dutch uses both worden and zijn.
You will also encounter er, constructions with modal verbs such as moeten and kunnen, and passive sentences in which the person performing the action is not mentioned at all.
Fortunately, the basic system is quite logical.
A useful first distinction is:
worden + past participle is used in the non-perfect passive.
zijn + past participle is used in the perfect passive.
Compare:
De brief wordt verstuurd.
The letter is being sent.
De brief is verstuurd.
The letter has been sent.
We will see later that the exact English translation depends on context.
The Dutch Passive at a Glance
| Form | Dutch example | Possible English translation |
|---|---|---|
| Present passive | De brief wordt verstuurd. | The letter is being sent / is sent. |
| Simple past passive | De brief werd verstuurd. | The letter was sent. |
| Perfect passive | De brief is verstuurd. | The letter has been sent / was sent. |
| Past perfect passive | De brief was verstuurd. | The letter had been sent. |
| Future passive | De brief zal worden verstuurd. | The letter will be sent. |
| Passive with a modal | De brief moet worden verstuurd. | The letter must be sent. |
The verb describing the actual action appears as a participle:
- versturen → verstuurd
- maken → gemaakt
- lezen → gelezen
- schrijven → geschreven
- openen → geopend
In grammatical descriptions, this is called a passive participle because of its function in the passive. Its form is identical to that of the ordinary past participle.
1. Active and Passive Sentences: What Changes?
Start with an active sentence:
De docent legt de regel uit.
The teacher explains the rule.
The subject, de docent, performs the action. De regel is the direct object: it undergoes the action.
Now compare the passive version:
De regel wordt door de docent uitgelegd.
The rule is explained by the teacher.
The basic information is similar, but the perspective has changed.
In the active sentence:
de docent = subject
de regel = direct object
In the passive sentence:
de regel = subject
door de docent = the person performing the action
The direct object of an active sentence therefore normally becomes the grammatical subject of its passive counterpart.
The person performing the action does not have to be mentioned:
De regel wordt uitgelegd.
The rule is explained.
Another example:
De politie arresteert de verdachte.
The police arrest the suspect.
becomes:
De verdachte wordt door de politie gearresteerd.
The suspect is arrested by the police.
or simply:
De verdachte wordt gearresteerd.
The suspect is arrested.
2. Forming the Present Passive with Worden
The basic present-tense passive is:
worden + past participle
For example:
De kok bereidt het eten.
The cook prepares the food.
becomes:
Het eten wordt bereid.
The food is being prepared.
Another example:
De medewerkers beantwoorden de e-mails.
The employees answer the emails.
becomes:
De e-mails worden beantwoord.
The emails are answered.
The finite form of worden agrees with the grammatical subject:
De e-mail wordt beantwoord.
The email is answered.
De e-mails worden beantwoord.
The emails are answered.
Dutch uses worden as the auxiliary of the passive in the non-perfect tenses.
3. Wordt Does Not Always Mean “Is Being”
A present passive does not always describe something happening at this exact moment.
Consider:
De fiets wordt gerepareerd.
In the right context, this means:
The bicycle is being repaired.
But the same grammatical tense can describe a habit or general procedure:
De post wordt elke ochtend om negen uur bezorgd.
The mail is delivered every morning at nine.
It can also refer to a scheduled future event:
De uitslag wordt morgen bekendgemaakt.
The result will be announced tomorrow.
Dutch regularly uses the present tense for planned or expected future events when the time is clear from context.
So do not learn a mechanical translation such as:
wordt + participle = is being + participle
Depending on the context, English may require:
- is being sent;
- is sent;
- will be sent.
4. The Past Passive: Werd and Werden
The simple past of worden is werd in the singular and werden in the plural.
The structure is:
werd/werden + past participle
Examples:
De fiets werd gisteren gerepareerd.
The bicycle was repaired yesterday.
De ramen werden vorige week gewassen.
The windows were washed last week.
Het probleem werd snel opgelost.
The problem was solved quickly.
The verb agrees with the subject:
De brief werd verstuurd.
The letter was sent.
De brieven werden verstuurd.
The letters were sent.
This form is especially useful when telling a story or placing an event inside a past narrative:
De deur werd geopend en een man kwam binnen.
The door was opened and a man came in.
5. The Perfect Passive: Zijn + Past Participle
The perfect passive uses:
zijn + past participle
Examples:
De brief is verstuurd.
The letter has been sent.
Het formulier is ingevuld.
The form has been completed.
De documenten zijn ondertekend.
The documents have been signed.
Compare an active sentence:
De politie heeft de verdachte gearresteerd.
The police have arrested the suspect.
with the passive:
De verdachte is gearresteerd.
The suspect has been arrested.
For the past perfect passive, use was or waren:
De brief was al verstuurd.
The letter had already been sent.
De documenten waren al ondertekend.
The documents had already been signed.
In the perfect tenses of the Dutch passive, zijn combines with the passive participle.
6. Dutch Is Verstuurd Does Not Always Mean “Has Been Sent”
This deserves special attention, particularly for English-speaking learners.
Dutch and English do not divide past time in exactly the same way.
Consider:
Het huis is in 1920 gebouwd.
The house was built in 1920.
The Dutch sentence uses the perfect passive is gebouwd, but English normally uses the simple past because in 1920 refers to a finished period.
Similarly:
De brug is vorig jaar geopend.
The bridge was opened last year.
De verdachte is gisteren gearresteerd.
The suspect was arrested yesterday.
Depending on the context, however, an English present perfect may be appropriate:
De brief is verstuurd.
The letter has been sent.
The important rule is therefore:
Do not translate Dutch tense forms mechanically into the corresponding English tense.
The Dutch is + participle tells you how the passive is grammatically formed in Dutch. Context determines whether English needs has been or was.
7. Why Does Worden Disappear in the Perfect Passive?
Compare:
De brief wordt verstuurd.
The letter is being sent.
with:
De brief is verstuurd.
The letter has been sent.
It may seem as though worden has simply disappeared.
In grammatical analysis, the perfect passive can be represented as containing an unexpressed geworden, the past participle of worden:
De brief is verstuurd [geworden].
In ordinary Standard Dutch, however, geworden is normally not expressed. The standard learner pattern is simply:
zijn + past participle
So use:
De brief is verstuurd. (correct)
The letter has been sent.
In ordinary language, avoid:
*De brief is verstuurd geworden.
Forms with an explicitly expressed geworden occasionally occur for stylistic reasons, but Taaladvies does not recommend them in normal Standard Dutch.
This is very different from worden meaning to become:
Het huis is duurder geworden.
The house has become more expensive.
Here, geworden carries an essential meaning and cannot simply be omitted.
8. Worden or Zijn: A Useful Meaning Difference
A useful learner distinction is:
worden + participle presents an action, event or process;
zijn + participle presents a completed event or its result.
Compare:
De deur wordt gesloten.
The door is being closed.
The closing is presented as an event or process.
De deur is gesloten.
The door has been closed / The door is closed.
The closing is complete.
Another example:
Het huis wordt gebouwd.
The house is being built.
Het huis is gebouwd.
The house has been built.
9. Is Gesloten: Passive or Simply an Adjective?
There is an additional complication with sentences such as:
De deur is gesloten.
This can describe the result of an action:
The door has been closed.
But it can also simply describe the present state:
The door is closed.
In the second interpretation, gesloten behaves much like an adjective.
Compare:
De deur is om tien uur door de conciërge gesloten.
The door was closed at ten o’clock by the caretaker.
The reference to the time and the person performing the action clearly presents gesloten as part of a passive event.
But:
De deur is gesloten, dus we kunnen niet naar binnen.
The door is closed, so we cannot go inside.
Here the present condition is more important than the action that caused it.
You do not normally need to analyse this distinction in detail when speaking Dutch. It is simply useful to know why zijn + participle does not always have one fixed English translation.
10. Mentioning the Performer with Door
When you want to mention who performs the action, Dutch normally uses door:
Het boek is geschreven door Harry Mulisch.
The book was written by Harry Mulisch.
De verdachte werd door de politie gearresteerd.
The suspect was arrested by the police.
Het gebouw wordt door een architect ontworpen.
The building is being designed by an architect.
This door-phrase corresponds to the subject of the related active sentence.
Compare:
Een architect ontwerpt het gebouw.
An architect designs the building.
Het gebouw wordt door een architect ontworpen.
The building is designed by an architect.
In many passive sentences, however, the door-phrase is omitted:
Het gebouw wordt volgend jaar geopend.
The building will be opened next year.
Who opens it is not important to the message.
11. Why Do We Use the Passive Voice?
The passive is not simply a more complicated version of the active. It changes the perspective of the sentence.
Compare:
De gemeente sluit de straat morgen af.
The municipality will close the street tomorrow.
Here, de gemeente is prominent.
Now compare:
De straat wordt morgen afgesloten.
The street will be closed tomorrow.
The sentence is now about de straat and what will happen to it.
The passive is particularly useful when the performer is:
- unknown
- obvious
- irrelevant
- deliberately left in the background
For example:
Mijn fiets is gestolen.
My bicycle has been stolen.
You probably do not know who stole it.
The passive is also common in instructions, regulations, news reports, academic writing and administrative texts:
De resultaten worden hieronder besproken.
The results are discussed below.
Aanvragen moeten vóór 1 september worden ingediend.
Applications must be submitted before 1 September.
The passive allows the action or affected object to become the informational focus.
Do Not Use the Passive Merely to Sound Formal
Compare:
Door mij wordt het verslag morgen geschreven.
This is grammatical, but unnecessarily cumbersome in most contexts.
The active version is clearer:
Ik schrijf het verslag morgen.
I will write the report tomorrow.
When the performer is important, the active voice is often the better choice.
12. The Impersonal Passive with Er
Dutch can also form passive sentences without an ordinary grammatical subject.
For example:
Er wordt gedanst.
People are dancing.
Er werd hard gewerkt.
People worked hard.
Er wordt hier veel Nederlands gesproken.
Dutch is spoken here a lot.
These are impersonal passive sentences.
The activity itself is central. There is no grammatical subject such as de brief, de fiets or de werknemers.
Because there is no grammatical subject, the finite verb is singular:
Er wordt veel gelachen. (correct)
People laugh a lot.
Not:
*Er worden veel gelachen. (incorrect)
The impersonal passive is particularly associated with intransitive activities where a human or human-like performer can be understood from the context.
13. Er Wordt Versus Er Worden
Not every passive sentence beginning with er is impersonal.
Compare:
Er wordt een huis gebouwd.
A house is being built.
Here, een huis is the grammatical subject.
Because it is singular, we use wordt.
Now compare:
Er worden tien huizen gebouwd.
Ten houses are being built.
Here, tien huizen is the subject.
Because it is plural, we use worden.
So:
er wordt does not automatically mean “impersonal passive.”
Always check whether another noun phrase is functioning as the subject.
14. An Impersonal Passive Does Not Always Need Er
The word er is not compulsory in every impersonal passive.
Compare:
Er wordt vandaag over het probleem gesproken.
The problem is being discussed today.
When another element occupies the first position, er can disappear:
Over het probleem wordt vandaag gesproken.
The problem is being discussed today.
Similarly:
In dit gebouw wordt niet gerookt.
People do not smoke in this building.
For an explicit prohibition, Dutch will often use a modal:
In dit gebouw mag niet gerookt worden.
Smoking is not allowed in this building.
There is still no ordinary grammatical subject in either sentence.
15. Can Every Verb Be Made Passive?
No. A personal passive is most straightforward with an action verb that has a direct object.
For example:
De student leest het boek.
The student reads the book.
becomes:
Het boek wordt gelezen.
The book is read.
And:
De chef bereidt het eten.
The chef prepares the food.
becomes:
Het eten wordt bereid.
The food is prepared.
However, not every transitive verb naturally allows a passive. For example, verbs expressing possession or knowledge generally resist ordinary passive formation:
Ik heb een auto.
I have a car.
You cannot normally say:
*Een auto wordt door mij gehad. (incorrect)
Similarly:
Zij kent het antwoord.
She knows the answer.
Not:
* Het antwoord wordt door haar gekend.
Reflexive verbs also generally do not form an ordinary passive:
Hij vergist zich.
He is mistaken.
There is no normal passive counterpart.
16. But Intransitive Verbs Can Form an Impersonal Passive
A verb does not need a direct object to appear in an impersonal passive.
Compare:
De mensen dansen.
The people are dancing.
with:
Er wordt gedanst.
People are dancing.
Or:
De reizigers wachten op de trein.
The travellers are waiting for the train.
Er wordt op de trein gewacht.
People are waiting for the train.
And:
Mensen praten veel over politiek.
People talk a lot about politics.
Er wordt veel over politiek gesproken.
People talk a lot about politics.
No direct object is promoted to subject. Instead, the activity itself becomes central. However, not every intransitive verb allows this.
For example:
Het regent.
It is raining.
Not:
*Er wordt geregend. (incorrect)
The ordinary impersonal passive requires an implied participant capable of performing the activity.
17. Passive Sentences with Modal Verbs
The passive frequently occurs with modal verbs such as moeten, kunnen and mogen.
A useful learner pattern is:
modal verb + worden + past participle
Examples:
Het formulier moet worden ingevuld.
The form must be completed.
De deur kan worden geopend.
The door can be opened.
Deze ruimte mag niet worden gebruikt.
This room may not be used.
De rekening moet vandaag worden betaald.
The bill must be paid today.
The modal verb is finite. Worden remains an infinitive.
Two Correct Word Orders
Dutch also allows:
Het formulier moet ingevuld worden.
The form must be completed.
De deur kan geopend worden.
The door can be opened.
Both orders are Standard Dutch:
moet worden ingevuld
and:
moet ingevuld worden
Neither is inherently more correct. For learners, moet worden ingevuld is a clear pattern to start with.
18. The Future Passive
The future passive can be formed with:
zullen + worden + past participle
De resultaten zullen morgen worden gepubliceerd.
The results will be published tomorrow.
Het nieuwe station zal volgend jaar worden geopend.
The new station will be opened next year.
You may also encounter:
De resultaten zullen morgen gepubliceerd worden.
The results will be published tomorrow.
Both word orders are correct. However, Dutch very often uses the ordinary present passive when the future time is already clear:
De resultaten worden morgen gepubliceerd.
The results will be published tomorrow.
This is completely natural and often more concise.
19. Separable Verbs in the Passive
Separable verbs form their passive with their normal past participle.
Take uitleggen (to explain):
De docent legt de regel uit.
The teacher explains the rule.
The past participle is:
uitgelegd
So:
De regel wordt uitgelegd.
The rule is explained.
Another example:
De student vult het formulier in.
The student fills in the form.
becomes:
Het formulier wordt ingevuld.
The form is filled in.
And:
We nodigen alle ouders uit.
We invite all the parents.
becomes:
Alle ouders worden uitgenodigd.
All the parents are invited.
The ge- of the participle normally appears inside the separable verb:
- uitleggen → uitgelegd
- invullen → ingevuld
- uitnodigen → uitgenodigd
20. Word Order in Passive Sentences
Main Clause
The finite form of worden or zijn occupies the normal second position:
De brief wordt morgen verstuurd.
The letter will be sent tomorrow.
Morgen wordt de brief verstuurd.
The letter will be sent tomorrow.
De brief is gisteren verstuurd.
The letter was sent yesterday.
Questions
Wordt de brief vandaag verstuurd?
Will the letter be sent today?
Is het formulier al ingevuld?
Has the form already been completed?
Subordinate Clauses
Two word orders are possible:
Ik weet dat de brief morgen wordt verstuurd.
Ik weet dat de brief morgen verstuurd wordt.
I know that the letter will be sent tomorrow.
Both are correct Standard Dutch.
The same applies to the perfect passive:
Ik weet dat de brief al is verstuurd.
Ik weet dat de brief al verstuurd is.
I know that the letter has already been sent.
Dutch allows both auxiliary-participle and participle-auxiliary order in these two-verb final clusters.
21. From Active to Passive: A Practical Method
Consider:
De medewerker verstuurt de uitnodigingen.
The employee sends the invitations.
Step 1: Find the Direct Object
The direct object is:
de uitnodigingen
Step 2: Make It the Subject
De uitnodigingen …
Step 3: Add the Correct Form of Worden
The new subject is plural:
De uitnodigingen worden …
Step 4: Use the Past Participle
versturen → verstuurd
The result is:
De uitnodigingen worden verstuurd.
The invitations are sent.
When the performer matters, add a door-phrase:
De uitnodigingen worden door de medewerker verstuurd.
The invitations are sent by the employee.
Past Tense
De medewerker verstuurde de uitnodigingen.
The employee sent the invitations.
becomes:
De uitnodigingen werden door de medewerker verstuurd.
The invitations were sent by the employee.
Perfect Tense
De medewerker heeft de uitnodigingen verstuurd.
The employee has sent the invitations.
becomes:
De uitnodigingen zijn verstuurd.
The invitations have been sent.
22. An Advanced Pattern: Krijgen + Past Participle
Dutch also has a useful construction with krijgen (to obtain) + past participle.
Consider:
De organisatie stuurt mij de documenten toe.
The organization sends me the documents.
A regular passive is possible:
De documenten worden mij toegestuurd.
The documents are sent to me.
But Dutch commonly also says:
Ik krijg de documenten toegestuurd.
I am sent the documents.
Another example:
De jury reikt hem een prijs uit.
The jury awards him a prize.
becomes:
Hij krijgt een prijs uitgereikt.
He is awarded a prize.
The recipient becomes the grammatical subject.
This is sometimes called a semi-passive construction. You do not need to use this construction as a beginner, but it is useful to recognize because it occurs frequently in natural Dutch.
23. Common Mistakes with the Dutch Passive
Mistake 1: Using an Infinitive Instead of a Participle
*De fiets wordt repareren. (incorrect)
Use:
De fiets wordt gerepareerd. (correct)
The bicycle is being repaired.
Mistake 2: Using Hebben in the Perfect Passive
*De brief heeft verstuurd. (incorrect)
Use:
De brief is verstuurd. (correct)
The letter has been sent.
Mistake 3: Adding Geworden to an Ordinary Perfect Passive
For normal learner usage, avoid:
Het huis is verkocht geworden.
Use:
Het huis is verkocht.
The house has been sold.
Mistake 4: Assuming Er Wordt Is Always Singular
With an impersonal passive:
Er wordt gedanst.
People are dancing.
But when a plural subject is present:
Er worden tien huizen gebouwd.
Ten houses are being built.
Mistake 5: Translating Is + Participle Mechanically
Het huis is in 1920 gebouwd.
means:
The house was built in 1920.
not normally:
The house has been built in 1920.
Mistake 6: Using the Passive When the Active Is Clearer
Door mij wordt de vergadering georganiseerd.
This is grammatical, but usually unnecessarily heavy.
Prefer:
Ik organiseer de vergadering.
I am organizing the meeting.
when I am the important part of the message.
The Most Important Rules to Remember (TL;DR)
The central Dutch passive pattern is:
Non-Perfect Passive: Worden
De brief wordt verstuurd.
The letter is being sent.
De brief werd verstuurd.
The letter was sent.
Perfect Passive: Zijn
De brief is verstuurd.
The letter has been sent.
De brief was verstuurd.
The letter had been sent.
Remember that Dutch is + participle can sometimes correspond to an English simple past:
Het huis is in 1920 gebouwd.
The house was built in 1920.
The performer can be added with door:
Het boek is door een bekende auteur geschreven.
The book was written by a famous author.
but is often omitted when it is unknown or unimportant.
With a modal verb:
Het formulier moet worden ingevuld.
The form must be completed.
And Dutch can form an impersonal passive when the activity itself is central:
Er wordt hard gewerkt.
People are working hard.
The passive is therefore not simply a more formal alternative to the active voice. It allows Dutch speakers to change the perspective of a sentence: away from who performs the action and towards what happens, what is affected, or what result has been achieved.
Free Dutch Passive Voice Cheat Sheet
Would you like to keep the main patterns close at hand? Download the free Dutch Passive Voice Cheat Sheet for a clear one-page overview of worden and zijn, active-to-passive transformations, er wordt, modal verbs, word order and the most important mistakes to avoid.