worden

To Become (Worden)

Level 1

Worden is a versatile verb used to describe a change of state (to become) or to build passive sentences (to be done).

How It Works

The verb worden is one of the most important verbs in Dutch. It has two primary roles:

1. Main Verb (Change of State): Use it when something or someone changes into a new state or identity.
Example: Het wordt donker (It is getting dark).

2. Auxiliary Verb (Passive Voice): Use it to describe an action being performed on a subject.
Example: De auto wordt gewassen (The car is being washed).

Conjugation (Present Tense):

  • ik word
  • jij/u wordt
  • hij/zij/het wordt
  • wij/jullie/zij worden

Inversion Note: In inversion, the -t is dropped for the informal jij/je (e.g., Word jij...?), but the -t is kept for the formal u (e.g., Wordt u...?).

Past and Perfect Tense:
The past tense is werd (singular) and werden (plural). In the perfect tense, worden always uses the auxiliary zijn.

  • As a main verb: Use zijn + geworden (e.g., Ik ben groot geworden).
  • In the passive voice: The participle geworden is omitted. You only use zijn + the main verb's participle (e.g., De brief is geschreven).

Examples (6)

  1. Ik word later dokter.

    I will become a doctor later.

    Word by Word: I become later doctor.

    Here 'worden' acts as a main verb indicating a future change of state/identity.

  2. Het wordt koud buiten.

    It is getting cold outside.

    Word by Word: It becomes cold outside.

    Dutch uses 'worden' where English often uses 'getting' to describe a change in weather or state.

  3. De brief wordt nu geschreven.

    The letter is being written now.

    Word by Word: The letter becomes now written.

    This is the passive voice. 'Worden' combines with a past participle to show the action is happening to the letter.

  4. Word je al een beetje moe?

    Are you getting a bit tired yet?

    Word by Word: Become you already a bit tired?

    Notice that in this question, the -t is dropped from 'wordt' because the informal 'je' follows the verb.

  5. Zij is gisteren achttien jaar geworden.

    She turned eighteen years old yesterday.

    Word by Word: She is yesterday eighteen year become.

    In the perfect tense as a main verb, 'worden' uses 'zijn' and the participle 'geworden'.

  6. De brief is geschreven.

    The letter has been written.

    Word by Word: The letter is written.

    In the passive perfect tense, the participle 'geworden' is dropped. We only use 'zijn' + the main verb's participle.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'wordt' for the first person 'ik'.

    Ik wordt moe.
    Ik word moe.

    Even though they sound the same, the 'ik' form never takes a -t. This is a very common spelling error called a dt-fout.

  • Adding 'geworden' to a passive perfect sentence.

    De auto is gewassen geworden.
    De auto is gewassen.

    In the perfect passive, Dutch normally drops the word 'geworden'. You only need the auxiliary 'zijn' and the past participle of the action.

  • Dropping the -t for the formal 'u' in inversion.

    Word u ook lid?
    Wordt u ook lid?

    The -t is only dropped for the informal 'jij/je'. The formal 'u' always keeps the -t, even when it follows the verb.

How It Connects

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wordenLevel 1To Become (Worden)

Learn This First

To conjugate 'worden', you need to understand how to derive a verb stem and apply the standard present tense endings to subject pronouns. Because the stem of 'worden' ends in a 'd', basic spelling rules help clarify the resulting 'dt' endings in the singular forms.

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worden