Grammar

Passive voice


The form

The Passive Voice is formed by: Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle.
Example: A letter was written.

When rewriting active sentences in the passive voice, note the following:

 

Note the differences between Dutch and English:

Dutch   English  
o.t.t. Het boek wordt gelezen present simple The book is read
o.v.t. Het boek werd gelezen past simple The book was read
v.t.t. Het boek is gelezen present perfect The book has been read
v.v.t. Het boek was gelezen past perfect

The book had been read

 

The use

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action.
It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.

Example: My bike was stolen.
In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen.
I do not know, however, who did it.

Sometimes a statement in the passive voice is more polite than the active voice,
as the following example shows:

Example: A mistake was made.
In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone
(e.g. You have made a mistake.).

 

The examples

 

Tense   Subject Verbs (prepositional) Object
Simple Present Active: Rita writes a letter
Let op: bij I gebruik 'am', bij he/she/it gebruik 'is', bij de rest gebruik 'are' Passive: A letter is written by Rita
Simple Past Active: Rita wrote a letter
Let op: bij I/he/she/it gebruik 'was', bij de rest gebruik 'were' Passive: A letter was written by Rita
Present Perfect Active: Rita has written a letter
  Passive: A letter has been written by Rita
Future Active: Rita will write a letter
  Passive: A letter will be written by Rita
Auxiliary verbs Active: Rita can write a letter
  Passive: A letter can be written

by Rita

 

 

VWO

The examples

 

Tense   Subject Verbs (prepositional) Object
Present Continuous Active: Rita is writing a letter
  Passive: A letter is being written by Rita
Past Continuous Active: Rita was writing a letter
  Passive: A letter was being written by Rita
Past Perfect Active: Rita had written a letter
  Passive: A letter had been written by Rita
Future Perfect Active: Rita will have written a letter
  Passive: A letter will have been written by Rita