De passieve vorm legt de nadruk op het object, bv. ‘De laptop wordt gebruikt’, ‘Het document is geschreven’.
(The passive voice places the emphasis on the object, for example, ‘De laptop wordt gebruikt’, ‘Het document is geschreven’.)
- A passive sentence often has no subject.
- A passive sentence always contains a form of the auxiliary verb worden or zijn and a past participle.
- In a passive sentence, the acting person is indicated with 'door', which can usually be omitted.
| Werkwoordstijd (Verb tense) | Actief (Active) | Passief (Passive) |
|---|---|---|
| onvoltooid tegenwoordige tijd (present simple) | Jan start het videogesprek. (Jan starts the video call.) | Het videogesprek wordt gestart (door Jan). (The video call is started (by Jan).) |
| onvoltooid verleden tijd (past simple) | Hij gebruikte zijn computer nauwelijks. (He hardly used his computer.) | Zijn computer werd nauwelijks gebruikt (door hem). (His computer was hardly used (by him).) |
| voltooid tegenwoordige tijd (present perfect) | Anna heeft het videogesprek afgebroken. (Anna has ended the video call.) | Het videogesprek is afgebroken (door Anna). (The video call has been ended (by Anna).) |
| voltooid verleden tijd (past perfect) | Ik had het gesprek gestart. (I had started the conversation.) | Het gesprek was gestart (door mij). (The conversation had been started (by me).) |
Exercise 1: Passieve zinnen
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
is, werd, wordt, was
1.
De laptop ... vorige week niet goed verbonden.
(The laptop was not properly connected last week.)
2.
De uitrusting ... dagelijks schoongemaakt.
(The equipment is cleaned daily.)
3.
De verbinding ... regelmatig getest op snelheid.
(The connection is regularly tested for speed.)
4.
De verbinding ... meteen hersteld na de storing.
(The connection was immediately restored after the outage.)
5.
Het platform ... al meerdere keren getest vandaag.
(The platform has already been tested several times today.)
6.
De digitale uitrusting ... geleverd door een extern bedrijf.
(The digital equipment was supplied by an external company.)
7.
De computer ... gisteren door de technicus gerepareerd.
(The computer was repaired by the technician yesterday.)
8.
Het videogesprek ... elke ochtend automatisch gestart.
(The video call is started automatically every morning.)
Exercise 2: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct passive sentence. Pay attention to whether the sentence uses the correct passive form with the auxiliary verb 'worden' or 'zijn' and a past participle, and whether the sentence is grammatically correct.
1.
The auxiliary verb 'is' appears twice here, which is incorrect in passive constructions.
The auxiliary verb 'is' is used twice here, which is not correct in a passive sentence.
2.
This is an active sentence without a passive form and is therefore incorrect for this exercise.
'By' must be followed by an agent; this is missing here, making the sentence incorrect.
3.
In this context, for the present tense, the auxiliary verb 'worden' should be used, not 'is'.
This is an active sentence and does not contain a passive construction.
4.
Combining different tenses within one passive sentence is incorrect.
The addition of 'were' is grammatically incorrect and makes the sentence erroneous.
Exercise 3: Rewrite the phrases
Instruction: Rewrite the sentences in the passive voice with the correct tense (present simple, past simple or past perfect/present perfect). Omit “by ...” where possible.
-
De manager start het online vergadergesprek om negen uur.⇒ _______________________________________________ ExampleHet online vergadergesprek wordt om negen uur gestart.(The online meeting starts at nine o'clock.)
-
De IT-afdeling loste het netwerkprobleem binnen een uur op.⇒ _______________________________________________ ExampleHet netwerkprobleem werd binnen een uur opgelost.(The network problem was fixed within an hour.)
-
Mijn collega heeft de afspraken in het systeem gezet.⇒ _______________________________________________ ExampleDe afspraken zijn in het systeem gezet.(The appointments have been entered into the system.)
-
Ik had de webcam al aangezet voor de vergadering.⇒ _______________________________________________ ExampleDe webcam was al aangezet voor de vergadering.(The webcam had already been turned on before the meeting.)
-
Zij gebruiken de gezamenlijke werkruimte bijna nooit.⇒ _______________________________________________ ExampleDe gezamenlijke werkruimte wordt bijna nooit gebruikt.(The shared workspace is almost never used.)
-
Anna verstuurde de uitnodigingen voor het videogesprek gisteren.⇒ _______________________________________________ ExampleDe uitnodigingen voor het videogesprek werden gisteren verstuurd.(The invitations for the video meeting were sent yesterday.)
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