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20
The
passive
136
Het gebouw is door Rem Koolhaas ontworpen.
The building was designed by Rem Koolhaas.
Dit boek werd door een beroemde schrijver geschreven.
This book was written by a famous author.
Ik werd door een butler binnengelaten.
I was shown in by a butler. (Or: A butler showed me in.)
De zangeres werd door een fantastische pianist begeleid.
The singer was accompanied by a fantastic pianist.
The passive with modal verbs
When the passive construction contains a modal or other auxiliary verb,
this auxiliary verb is the finite verb, while the passive auxiliary verb worden
goes to the end of the sentence in its infinitive form. It can be placed on
either side of the passive participle. In the examples below, the auxiliary
verbs are in italics, and the alternatives in word order are separated by
forward slashes. Both alternatives in word order are grammatically correct.
However, the form with the passive participle at the end is more common
in written Dutch, while the other form is more common in speech. This
also applies to the examples further on in this unit.
De beesten moeten gevoerd worden/worden gevoerd.
The animals have to be fed.
De auto moet gewassen worden/worden gewassen.
The car needs to be washed.
Deze computer kan niet meer gerepareerd worden/worden gerepareerd.
This computer cannot be repaired anymore.
Het kind wilde niet geknuffeld worden/worden geknuffeld.
The child didn’t want to be cuddled.
Het dak zal volgend jaar vernieuwd worden/worden vernieuwd.
The roof will be replaced next year.
The sentence Het dak zal volgend jaar vernieuwd worden is an example
of the passive in the future tense. Sometimes, another modal verb is added
to the construction. In that case, the form of zullen is the finite verb, while
the additional modal verb is added to the infinitive group at the end of
the sentence. The passive participle can appear either before or after the
infinitive group. In the examples, the word order alternatives are separated
by forward slashes: