A2.43 - Remote work or the office?

Passive sentences

Passieve zinnen

De passieve vorm legt de nadruk op het object, bv. ‘De laptop wordt gebruikt’, ‘Het document is geschreven’.

(The passive form puts the emphasis on the object, e.g. ‘De laptop wordt gebruikt’, ‘Het document is geschreven’.)

When do you use the passive in Dutch?

  • Active = focus on who does the action.
  • Passive = focus on what happens (the action or result).
  • Common in professional contexts: processes, reports, IT issues, procedures.

Active: Jan start het videogesprek. (Jan is important.)

Passive: Het videogesprek wordt gestart (door Jan). (The video call is important.)

The basic recipe (what you must see in every passive sentence)

  • Object becomes the subject of the sentence.
  • You always use worden or zijn + a past participle (voltooid deelwoord).
  • The person who does the action can be added with door (often omitted).
Step Active Passive
1 What is acted on? Jan start het videogesprek. Het videogesprek …
2 Choose helper start wordt (present) / werd (past)
3 Past participle start … gestart
4 Optional actor Jan (door Jan)

Choosing between worden and zijn (the key decision)

  • worden = the action/process is happening (or was happening).
  • zijn = the action is completed; focus on the result/state.
Meaning Dutch pattern Example
Process (in progress) worden + past participle Het videogesprek wordt gestart.
Completed (result) zijn + past participle Het videogesprek is afgebroken.

Quick check: If you can naturally add “right now / at the moment”, you usually need worden. If you can add “already / finished”, you often need zijn.

Tense overview (match the tense of the situation)

Tense Passive helper Example
Simple present wordt + pp De laptop wordt klaargezet.
Simple past werd/werden + pp De verbinding werd onderbroken.
Present perfect (completed) is/zijn + pp Het platform is bijgewerkt.
Past perfect (completed before another past moment) was/waren + pp Het document was opgeslagen voordat je uitlogde.

Word order: where do the parts go?

  • Main clause: subject + helper verb + … + past participle (often near the end).
  • If you add the actor: put it in a door-phrase, usually after the past participle.

Model: Het rapport werd vandaag gecontroleerd (door de manager).

With extra info: De notulen werden gisteren om 16.00 uur verstuurd (door de assistent).

Common mistakes (and how to fix them fast)

  • Infinitive after worden/zijn → always use a past participle.

    De laptop wordt gebruiken. → De laptop wordt gebruikt.

  • Door + not a person/actor → door needs an agent (a person/department).

    De laptop wordt gebruikt door tijdens de vergadering.

    De laptop wordt gebruikt tijdens de vergadering. / … (door Jan).

  • Wrong helper with time words (typical at A2):

    gisteren often fits better with werd/werden than with is/zijn (unless the focus is “completed result”).

Self-check: is your passive sentence correct?

  1. Did I move the object to the front? (What is affected?)
  2. Did I choose worden (process) or zijn (completed result)?
  3. Did I use a past participle (gestart, gebruikt, gecontroleerd, verstuurd, opgeslagen)?
  4. Is the actor optional, and if I add it: door + person/department?
  1. A passive sentence often has no subject.
  2. A passive sentence always contains a form of the auxiliary verb 'worden' or 'zijn' and a past participle.
  3. In a passive sentence, the person who does the action is introduced with 'door', and can usually be left out.
Werkwoordstijd (verb tense)Actief (active)Passief (passive)
onvoltooid tegenwoordige tijd (simple present)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 (simple past)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 ended the video call.)Het videogesprek is afgebroken (door Anna). (The video call was ended (by Anna).)
voltooid verleden tijd (past perfect)Ik had het gesprek gestart. (I had started the call.)Het gesprek was gestart (door mij). (The call had been started (by me).)

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

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1. De laptop _____ vandaag op kantoor klaargezet.

The laptop _____ is being set up at the office today.

2. Gisteren _____ de verbinding tijdens het videogesprek steeds verbroken.

Yesterday, the connection _____ kept being disconnected during the video call.

3. Het platform _____ net bijgewerkt door de IT-afdeling.

The platform _____ has just been updated by the IT department.

4. Het document _____ al opgeslagen voordat je je afmeldde.

The document _____ had already been saved before you logged out.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Convert the sentence from active to passive (pay attention to the tense): use 'worden' in the simple present/past tense and 'zijn' in the present/past perfect tense. Example: De manager belt de klant. → De klant wordt gebeld (door de manager).

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Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints
  1. De medewerker start het videogesprek.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Het videogesprek wordt gestart (door de medewerker).
    (The video call is started (by the employee).)
  2. De ict-helpdesk controleerde de laptop gisteren.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    De laptop werd gisteren gecontroleerd (door de ICT-helpdesk).
    (The laptop was checked yesterday (by the ICT helpdesk).)
  3. Mijn collega heeft het document vandaag verstuurd.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Het document is vandaag verstuurd (door mijn collega).
    (The document has been sent today (by my colleague).)
  4. Wij hadden het formulier al ingevuld.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Het formulier was al ingevuld (door ons).
    (The form had already been filled in (by us).)

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Kato De Paepe

Business and languages

KdG University of Applied Sciences and Arts Antwerp

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Last Updated:

Wednesday, 29/04/2026 04:25