Passive Voice (Lijdende Vorm) (B1)
The passive voice is used when the focus is on the action or the object receiving the action, rather than the person or thing performing the action (the agent). The agent is often unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context.
Formation:
The passive voice is formed using an auxiliary verb (worden or zijn) combined with the past participle of the main verb.
- Passive with
worden(for ongoing or incomplete actions/processes):
- Used for Present Passive, Imperfect Passive.
- Present Passive (Onvoltooid Tegenwoordige Lijdende Tijd - O.T.L.T.):
- Formation: Present tense of
worden(conjugated) + Past Participle. - Structure: Subject (receiver of action) +
worden(conjugated) + ... + Past Participle. - Example:
Het huis wordt gebouwd.(The house is being built / is built.) - Example:
De brieven worden geschreven.(The letters are being written / are written.) - Imperfect Passive (Onvoltooid Verleden Lijdende Tijd - O.V.L.T.):
- Formation: Imperfect tense of
worden(werd/werden) + Past Participle. - Structure: Subject +
werd/werden+ ... + Past Participle. - Example:
Het huis werd gebouwd.(The house was being built / was built.) - Example:
De brieven werden geschreven.(The letters were being written / were written.)
- Passive with
zijn(for completed actions/results):
- Used for Perfect Passive, Past Perfect Passive.
- Perfect Passive (Voltooid Tegenwoordige Lijdende Tijd - V.T.L.T.):
- Formation: Present tense of
zijn(conjugated) + Past Participle. - Structure: Subject +
zijn(conjugated) + ... + Past Participle. - Example:
Het huis is gebouwd.(The house has been built / is built - implies completion). - Example:
De brieven zijn geschreven.(The letters have been written / are written - implies completion). - Past Perfect Passive (Voltooid Verleden Lijdende Tijd - V.V.L.T.):
- Formation: Imperfect tense of
zijn(was/waren) + Past Participle. - Structure: Subject +
was/waren+ ... + Past Participle. - Example:
Het huis was al gebouwd toen ze het kochten.(The house had already been built when they bought it.) - Example:
De brieven waren geschreven voordat hij arriveerde.(The letters had been written before he arrived.)
Including the Agent (Optional):
If you want to mention who performed the action, use the preposition door.
- Example:
Het huis wordt door de aannemer gebouwd.(The house is being built by the contractor.) - Example:
De brief is door mij geschreven.(The letter was written by me.)
Usage & Importance (B1):
- Focusing on the result or process, not the performer.
- Used in formal writing, news reports, descriptions of processes.
- Understanding the difference between
worden(process/ongoing) andzijn(result/completed) passives is key. - Recognizing passive structures is crucial for comprehension, especially in written texts.
Mastering the passive voice allows for more varied and sophisticated sentence structures appropriate for the B1 level.