The advanced Dutch passive: modals, krijgen and er wordt
Go beyond the basic Dutch passive with modal verbs, every tense, the er-passive, the krijgen-passive and tips on when to avoid it.
You probably know the basic Dutch passive already: Het huis wordt verkocht, Mijn fiets is gestolen. At B2 level, the passive gets more demanding. You need it with modal verbs (moet worden betaald), in subclauses with three verbs at the end, in "should have been" sentences, and in two constructions English doesn't have: the subjectless er-passive and the krijgen-passive. And just as important, you need to know when not to use it. If you need a refresher on the basics first, read the passive voice.
Every tense at a glance
The Dutch passive uses worden for the process and zijn for the perfect tenses. Here is the full picture with one verb, betalen:
| Tense | Passive | English |
|---|---|---|
| present | De rekening wordt betaald. | The bill is (being) paid. |
| simple past | De rekening werd betaald. | The bill was paid. |
| perfect | De rekening is betaald. | The bill has been paid. |
| past perfect | De rekening was betaald. | The bill had been paid. |
| future | De rekening zal worden betaald. | The bill will be paid. |
| conditional | De rekening zou worden betaald. | The bill would be paid. |
| past conditional | De rekening zou zijn betaald. | The bill would have been paid. |
The key point: in the perfect tenses worden disappears. Its participle geworden is not used in the standard passive (you may hear it in some southern dialects, but it counts as non-standard).
- De brief is gisteren verstuurd. — The letter was sent yesterday.
- Wrong: De brief is gisteren verstuurd geworden.
Process or state?
Because the perfect passive uses zijn, a sentence like De winkel is gesloten can mean two things: "the shop has been closed (by someone)" or simply "the shop is closed". Usually the context makes it clear. If you want to stress the action, add a time or a door-phrase: De winkel is gisteren door de gemeente gesloten. — The shop was closed by the council yesterday. Compare the present tense, which always describes a process: De winkel wordt om zes uur gesloten. — The shop is closed (locked up) at six.
The passive with modal verbs
With a modal verb (moeten, kunnen, mogen, willen, zullen), the modal is the conjugated verb. Worden goes to the end as an infinitive, together with the participle — in either order.
- De rekening moet vóór vrijdag worden betaald. — The bill must be paid before Friday.
- De rekening moet vóór vrijdag betaald worden. — The bill must be paid before Friday.
- Dit probleem kan niet snel worden opgelost. — This problem can't be solved quickly.
In a subclause
In a subclause the modal joins the verb cluster at the end. Two orders are common in the Netherlands:
| Order | Example |
|---|---|
| participle – modal – worden | …omdat de rekening vóór vrijdag betaald moet worden. |
| modal – worden – participle | …omdat de rekening vóór vrijdag moet worden betaald. |
A third order, moet betaald worden, is also heard, especially in Belgium. If you want one safe choice, use betaald moet worden. See verb clusters for the general rules.
"Should have been" and "had to be"
Past modal passives stack up four verbs, which is where many learners lose track. Learn them as fixed patterns:
| Meaning | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| should have been done | had + participle + moeten worden | Dat had gisteren gedaan moeten worden. |
| could have been done | had + participle + kunnen worden | Het ongeluk had voorkomen kunnen worden. |
| had to be done (and was) | heeft/moest + … | Het dak heeft vervangen moeten worden. / Het dak moest worden vervangen. |
- De regel had allang afgeschaft moeten worden. — The rule should have been abolished long ago.
- Het ongeluk had voorkomen kunnen worden. — The accident could have been prevented.
In a subclause, the participle goes either before had or to the very end of the cluster: …dat het eerder gemeld had moeten worden or …dat het eerder had moeten worden gemeld. For more on these forms, see the past conditional.
The er-passive: activities without a subject
Dutch can make a passive with no subject at all. The sentence starts with er (or another element, with er after the verb), and the verb is always singular.
- Er wordt hard gewerkt. — People are working hard.
- Er wordt hier niet gerookt. — There's no smoking here.
- Er mag hier niet geparkeerd worden. — Parking isn't allowed here.
At B2 level you'll often meet it with a prepositional object. Then er frequently does two jobs at once, as the subjectless er and as part of er … over:
- Er wordt al jaren over gesproken. — It has been talked about for years.
- Er wordt al maanden over de plannen gediscussieerd. — The plans have been under discussion for months.
- Er is lang naar een oplossing gezocht. — People searched for a solution for a long time.
Remember the restrictions:
- It only works with activities done by people (or animals). Wrong: Er wordt geregend.
- It doesn't work with verbs that take zijn in the perfect, such as vallen, komen or sterven. Wrong: Er wordt gevallen.
With an indefinite subject, er returns and the verb agrees with that subject: Er worden elk jaar duizenden fietsen gestolen. — Thousands of bikes are stolen every year. Er zijn twee verdachten gearresteerd. — Two suspects have been arrested. More on all uses of er in the word er.
The krijgen-passive
In a normal passive, the direct object becomes the subject. In the krijgen-passive, the indirect object — the person who receives something — becomes the subject. Krijgen replaces worden.
| Active | worden-passive | krijgen-passive |
|---|---|---|
| Ze sturen mij het pakket toe. | Het pakket wordt mij toegestuurd. | Ik krijg het pakket toegestuurd. |
| De rechter legde hem een boete op. | Hem werd een boete opgelegd. | Hij kreeg een boete opgelegd. |
| Ze hebben haar een baan aangeboden. | Haar is een baan aangeboden. | Ze heeft een baan aangeboden gekregen. |
The krijgen-passive often sounds more natural than the worden-version, because Dutch likes to start with the person:
- We kregen de kosten vergoed. — We were reimbursed for the costs.
- De stichting heeft een subsidie toegekend gekregen. — The foundation has been awarded a grant.
- Hij kreeg van de rechter een boete opgelegd. — He was given a fine by the judge.
Notice the perfect: heeft … gekregen, with the main participle before gekregen: heeft … aangeboden gekregen. And notice van rather than door to name the giver.
It only works with verbs that have a receiver: toesturen, aanbieden, opleggen, toekennen, uitbetalen, vergoeden, uitreiken, uitleggen. Verbs like helpen or bellen take a direct object, so they use the normal passive: Ik word geholpen. — I'm being helped. Wrong: Ik krijg geholpen.
When to avoid the passive
The passive is useful when the doer is unknown, obvious or unimportant. But a long chain of passives makes a text heavy and vague. Good Dutch writers switch to the active whenever the doer matters.
| Heavy passive | Clearer alternative |
|---|---|
| Er wordt door ons naar een oplossing gezocht. | We zoeken een oplossing. |
| Door de gemeente is besloten dat… | De gemeente heeft besloten dat… |
| Mijn fiets wordt gerepareerd. (by whom?) | Ik laat mijn fiets repareren. |
| Er moet nog veel gedaan worden. | We moeten nog veel doen. |
Some practical alternatives:
- An active sentence with we, je, ze or men: Ze hebben de weg afgesloten. — They've closed the road. Men is formal and fairly rare in speech.
- Laten + infinitive when you arrange for someone else to do it: Ik laat mijn haar knippen. — I'm having my hair cut. See zien, horen and laten.
- A reflexive or intransitive verb when nobody is acting: De deur gaat open. — The door opens.
Tip: In official letters the passive sounds polite and neutral (Uw aanvraag is ontvangen). In emails to colleagues, an active sentence with we or ik sounds friendlier and more direct.
Quick summary
- Perfect passive: is/was + participle, never geworden.
- Modals: moet worden betaald or moet betaald worden; in subclauses betaald moet worden or moet worden betaald.
- "Should have been": had + participle + moeten worden.
- Er-passive: no subject, singular verb, only for human activities; er can also cover a preposition: Er wordt over gesproken.
- Krijgen-passive: the receiver becomes the subject: Ik krijg het pakket toegestuurd.
- Avoid stacking passives when the doer matters; use an active verb, laten or men.
Practise it
Put all of this into practice in Advanced passive. If the basic forms are still shaky, go back to The passive, and for the modal perfect (had moeten) see I had to / I could have. Related guides: modal verbs and Dutch verb tenses.