krijgen + Past Participle

Get Passive

Level 4

The krijgen-passief (recipient passive) allows you to make the person receiving something the subject of the sentence. Instead of saying 'A book was given to him,' you say 'He got a book given (to him).'

How It Works

The krijgen-passief is a Dutch construction known as the recipient passive. Unlike the worden-passive, which promotes the direct object, the Dutch version promotes the indirect object (the recipient). It is equivalent to English sentences like 'I was given a book.'

1. Structure:
Subject (Recipient) + krijgen + Direct Object + Past Participle.

2. The Recipient Passive:
Use this pattern when you want the focus to be on the person who 'receives' the result of an action. It is common with verbs of communication and transfer:

  • toesturen (to send to)
  • uitleggen (to explain)
  • vergoeden (to reimburse)
  • aanbieden (to offer)

This also includes adversative passives, where the recipient is negatively affected by losing something or being denied something:

  • afpakken (to take away) - 'Hij kreeg zijn rijbewijs afgepakt.'
  • weigeren (to refuse) - 'Ik kreeg de toegang geweigerd.'

Note: Using geven (to give) with krijgen is considered a pleonasm, as krijgen already functions as the passive counterpart of geven.

3. The Resultative Construction:
Distinct from the recipient passive, krijgen can also be used with a direct object to express that a result was achieved or managed: 'Ik kreeg de auto eindelijk gerepareerd' (I finally managed to get the car repaired).

4. Perception Verbs: te + infinitive
A specific set of perception and processing verbs use te + infinitive instead of a participle. Common examples include:

  • te horen krijgen (to be told/to hear)
  • te zien krijgen (to be shown/to see)
  • te lezen krijgen (to be given to read)
  • te verwerken krijgen (to have to process/deal with)

5. Perfect Tense (No IPP):
Unlike many other verb combinations in the perfect tense, krijgen does not follow the double infinitive (IPP) rule. You must use the past participle gekregen: 'Ik heb het uitgelegd gekregen' (NOT: 'Ik heb het uitgelegd krijgen').

6. Word Order in Sub-clauses:
In a subordinate clause, Dutch allows both the 'red' and 'green' verb cluster orders. You can say '...omdat ik het uitgelegd kreeg' or '...omdat ik het kreeg uitgelegd'.

7. Restrictions:
The krijgen-passive is generally restricted to verbs that take an indirect object (dative) in the active voice. Monotransitive verbs that only take a direct object (like slaan or zien) cannot form a krijgen-passive. Additionally, you cannot use krijgen for state changes like 'getting tired.' For those, use worden or raken.

Examples (5)

  1. Ik krijg de documenten morgen toegestuurd.

    I will be sent the documents tomorrow.

    Word by Word: I get the documents tomorrow to-sent.

    Here, 'ik' is the recipient. The focus is on the person receiving the documents rather than the documents themselves.

  2. De winnaar kreeg de prijs door de burgemeester uitgereikt.

    The winner was presented with the prize by the mayor.

    Word by Word: The winner got the prize by the mayor out-reached.

    This shows that the 'door' (by) phrase can still be used to identify the agent, just like in a standard passive.

  3. Krijg jij die kosten vergoed door de verzekering?

    Are you being reimbursed for those costs by the insurance?

    Word by Word: Get you those costs reimbursed by the insurance?

    A common professional usage involving reimbursement (vergoeden).

  4. Hij kreeg zijn telefoon afgepakt in de klas.

    He had his phone taken away in class.

    Word by Word: He got his phone off-grabbed in the class.

    This construction can be used for events where something is taken away from the subject (privative verbs).

  5. Ik vind het fijn dat ik deze taak toegewezen krijg.

    I like that I am being assigned this task.

    Word by Word: I find it nice that I this task to-assigned get.

    In sub-clauses, the past participle usually precedes the conjugated form of 'krijgen'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'krijgen' for 'getting fired' or 'getting hit'.

    Ik kreeg ontslagen.
    Ik werd ontslagen.

    The Dutch 'krijgen-passive' is only for recipients of an object or information. For general actions happening to a subject, use 'worden'.

  • Using 'krijgen' for changes of state like 'getting married'.

    Wij kregen getrouwd.
    Wij zijn getrouwd / Wij gingen trouwen.

    Dutch uses 'zijn' or 'gaan' for marriage, not 'krijgen'.

  • Using 'worden' when the subject is the recipient.

    Hij wordt een boek aangeboden.
    Hem wordt een boek aangeboden / Hij krijgt een boek aangeboden.

    In a 'worden' passive, the recipient must stay in the object form (hem). If you want the person to be the subject (hij), you must use 'krijgen'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

krijgen + Past ParticipleLevel 4Get Passive

Learn This First

To understand the 'krijgen' passive (the recipient passive), you first need to know how to form past participles. It is also important to understand the basic passive voice with 'worden' and how objects function in a sentence, as this pattern specifically turns the indirect object (the recipient) into the subject of the sentence.

Words in This Pattern

krijgen