When you want to say what happens to something rather than who does it, Dutch uses the passive: a form of _worden_ plus a past participle (the form from the perfect tense, like _verkocht_ or _gebouwd_). So _Het huis wordt verkocht_ means the house is being sold. Add _door_ to name the doer, and use _werd_ or _werden_ for the past: _Het huis werd in 1920 gebouwd_.
The pattern
Combine a form of _worden_ with a past participle, which usually goes at the end of the clause. To name the doer, put _door_ in front of it.
- Present: the verb agrees with the subject (who or what the sentence is about): _ik word_; _jij_ or _je wordt_, but _word jij_ or _word je_ when it follows the verb; _hij_, _zij_, _het_ and _u wordt_. Plural subjects take _worden_: _De brief wordt verstuurd_, _De brieven worden verstuurd_.
- Past: _werd_ with any singular subject, _werden_ with plurals: _De brug werd in 1890 gebouwd_.
- In a main clause, _wordt_ or _werd_ takes second place and the participle usually goes to the end, as in the perfect tense: _Morgen wordt het pakket bezorgd_.
- In a subordinate clause (one that starts with a word like _dat_ or _omdat_), both verbs go to the end, in either order: _omdat het pakket morgen wordt bezorgd_ or _omdat het pakket morgen bezorgd wordt_.
- Naming the doer is optional, and many passive sentences leave it out.
Examples
| Het huis van onze buren wordt verkocht. | Our neighbours' house is being sold. |
|---|---|
| Het afval wordt elke dinsdag opgehaald. | The rubbish is collected every Tuesday. |
| De brief wordt door de directeur getekend. | The letter is signed by the director. |
| Wordt u al geholpen? | Are you being served? |
| Bij de huisarts word je vaak eerst door de doktersassistent geholpen. | At the GP's, you are often helped by the doctor's assistant first. |
| Gisteren werden alle treinen naar Utrecht geannuleerd. | Yesterday all trains to Utrecht were cancelled. |
| Bij het ongeluk werd een fietser door een bestelbus geraakt. | In the accident, a cyclist was hit by a van. |
| Uw parkeervergunning wordt automatisch verlengd. | Your parking permit is renewed automatically. |
| Fatima weet nog niet of haar aanvraag wordt goedgekeurd. | Fatima doesn't know yet whether her application will be approved. |
Why it works this way
The hook is in the verb itself: _worden_ means become, as you saw in [Worden: become, and the passive](#/lesson/worden). _Het huis wordt verkocht_ is literally the house becoming sold. Something is happening to it, so Dutch uses a verb of change where English uses be.
The passive turns an active sentence around. In _De directeur tekent de brief_, the director is the subject. In _De brief wordt door de directeur getekend_, the letter takes that spot, and the director becomes an optional extra.
Use it when the doer is unknown, obvious or beside the point. Nobody cares who empties your bin, only that it happens on Tuesday. That is why news reports and official letters love the passive: _Uw aanvraag wordt binnen acht weken behandeld_ keeps the focus on what happens and the tone factual.
In conversation, people often use the perfect for past events (_Het huis is in 1920 gebouwd_), so _werd_ tends to sound more written: think news, history and stories. Relaxed speech also likes a vague _ze_ instead of a passive: _Ze halen het afval op dinsdag op_ (see [Men, je and ze](#/lesson/people-in-general)).
Remember: when English uses is or are with a participle for something happening now, regularly or soon, Dutch uses _wordt_ or _worden_. A Dutch _is_ plus participle points to a finished action or its result, which is the topic of [The passive in the perfect](#/lesson/passive-perfect).
Watch out
- Not: _De brief wordt van de directeur getekend._ Say: _De brief wordt door de directeur getekend._ (Dutch introduces the doer with _door_; _van_ is a German habit)
- Not: _Gisteren de treinen werden geannuleerd._ Say: _Gisteren werden de treinen geannuleerd._ (the verb comes second, so _werden_ follows _gisteren_ directly)
- Not: _De ramen wordt elke maand gelapt._ Say: _De ramen worden elke maand gelapt._ (plural subject, plural verb)
- Not: _Ik hoop dat mijn fiets wordt snel gerepareerd._ Say: _Ik hoop dat mijn fiets snel wordt gerepareerd._ (in a subordinate clause, _wordt_ joins the participle at the end)
Quick check
- Choose _wordt_ or _worden_: _De nieuwe fietsenstalling bij het station ... volgend jaar geopend._
- Choose _werd_ or _werden_: _De fietsen van Joris en Mei ... gisteren gestolen._
- Fill in the gap so the sentence means that Yara bakes the cake: _De verjaardagstaart wordt ... Yara gebakken._
- Fix the word order, keeping _Vandaag_ at the start: _Vandaag mijn salaris wordt overgemaakt._
Answers
- _wordt_: _de nieuwe fietsenstalling_ is singular.
- _werden_: two bikes, past tense, so the plural _werden_.
- _door_: it introduces the doer.
- _Vandaag wordt mijn salaris overgemaakt._ The verb comes second, right after _Vandaag_.
Use it today
Open the next letter or email from your _gemeente_, bank or energy supplier, or read a short news item, and underline every _wordt_, _worden_, _werd_ and _werden_. For each one, check whether it forms a passive with a past participle or simply means become. For each passive, find the participle and ask who does the action, and whether the text bothers to tell you.