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The passive without emphasis on the object
of the action
When the object of the action is indefinite, or when the action does not
have an explicit object, the passive sentence begins with er (sometimes hier
or daar). An indefinite subject of the passive sentence can follow the verb
or other sentence parts. Examples, with the subjects in italics:
Er wordt een huis gebouwd.
A house is being built.
Er wordt naast ons een huis gebouwd.
A house is being built next door to us.
Er worden dit jaar in onze straat twee huizen gebouwd.
Two houses are being built on our street this year. (Or: They’re going
to build two houses on our street this year.)
Hier worden schoenen verkocht.
Shoes are sold here. (Or: They sell shoes here.)
Daar werd een tango gedanst.
They were dancing a tango there.
When there is no explicit object of the action, but only action going on,
the passive sentence will also begin with er, followed by the passive auxiliary
verb, other sentence parts (time, place, manner, other prepositional
phrases), and the passive participle at the end of the sentence. Examples:
Er wordt geschoten.
There is shooting (going on).
Er wordt in de binnenstad geschoten.
There is shooting in the inner city.
Er werd gisteren in de binnenstad geschoten.
Yesterday, there was shooting going on in the inner city.
Er werd gisteren in de binnenstad vanuit een auto op een voorbijganger
geschoten.
Yesterday in the inner city a bystander was shot at from a passing car.
The passive with emphasis on the agent of the action
When the agent of the action is relevant or important, it is included in the
passive sentence by using the preposition door. Examples, with the agent
in italics:
The
passive
without
emphasis
on the
object
of the
action
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