The passive 3vwo

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 3

Passive tense

What has happened to these letters?

Your options? 

Possible answers

The letters were sent

The letters have been sent

The letters were thrown away

The letters were opened

The letters are being burnt

What's weird about the passive? No subject needed!

The letters were sent.....?          (by whom?)

The letters have been sent....

The letters were thrown away....

Active sentences

The subject is or was actively doing something, at some point in time. 

Describe: subject+verb+object

"The ball is kicked (by him)"

1. Object is now in front of sentence (place subject)

2. You can always add the phrase 'by someone'

3. the sentence is in the same tense as the active

4. There is always an extra form of 'to be' in there

So far so good...now the hard part

1. How do you take over the same tense that was used in the active? 

"they are kicking the ball" (active)

"The ball is being kicked by them (passive)

Rule: main verb gets to be a 'volt deelw' &  extra form of to be gets to take over the tense. 

What should you be able to do?

1. translate Dutch passive into English passive

2. turn active into passive

3. know your 'volt deelw' / past participles

How to translate the tenses

1. is geschopt / is kicked or has been kicked

2. was geschopt / was kicked or had been kicked

3. wordt geschopt / is being kicked

4. werd geschopt / was being kicked

Turn active into passive

follow the 4 rules

"She builds houses"

"Houses.....              by....."

"Houses ........built by......"

"Houses are built by her"

know your volt deelwoorden

See hand out.

Look at the third row: past participle

Now...practise!