The justice system
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Vocabulário
- de rechtbankcourt
- de rechterjudge
- de advocaatlawyer
- de verdachtesuspect
- het vonnisverdict, sentence
- veroordelento convict, sentence
- vrijsprekento acquit
- de strafpunishment
- het bewijsevidence
- de getuigewitness
- de aanklachtcharge, indictment
- in beroep gaanto appeal
Past Passive: Werd veroordeeld
Dutch uses the past passive extensively in legal and news contexts to describe judicial outcomes.
Past passive (imperfect): werd/werden + past participle
- De verdachte werd veroordeeld tot drie jaar. — The suspect was sentenced to three years.
- De getuigen werden gehoord door de rechter. — The witnesses were heard by the judge.
Perfect passive: is/zijn + past participle
- Hij is vrijgesproken bij gebrek aan bewijs. — He was acquitted for lack of evidence.
- De zaak is gesloten. — The case has been closed.
Past perfect passive: was/waren + past participle
- Het vonnis was al uitgesproken voordat... — The verdict had already been pronounced before...
The agent is introduced with door (by):
- Het vonnis werd uitgesproken door de rechter. — The verdict was pronounced by the judge.
In subordinate clauses, the verb order shifts:
- ...omdat de verdachte werd vrijgesproken. — ...because the suspect was acquitted.
Legal Dutch strongly prefers passive over active voice for objectivity.
Expressões
- De verdachte werd veroordeeld.The suspect was convicted.
- Hij is vrijgesproken.He was acquitted.
- De getuige werd gehoord.The witness was heard.
- Het vonnis was al uitgesproken.The verdict had already been pronounced.
- De zaak werd gesloten.The case was closed.
- Ze gaat in beroep tegen het vonnis.She is appealing the verdict.
Erros frequentes
De verdachte was veroordeeld tot drie jaar.De verdachte werd veroordeeld tot drie jaar.For the simple past passive, use werd (not was) + past participle. Was is for past perfect passive.
De getuigen werden gehoord bij de rechter.De getuigen werden gehoord door de rechter.The agent in passive constructions is introduced by door (by), not bij.
Hij is vrijgesproken geworden.Hij is vrijgesproken.In Dutch perfect passive, geworden is usually omitted — just is + past participle.
Ze gaat in beroep tegen aan het vonnis.Ze gaat in beroep tegen het vonnis.The preposition is tegen alone, not tegen aan — remove the extra aan.
De zaak werd gesloten door.De zaak werd gesloten.If no agent is specified, do not add door at the end — simply omit it.
Quiz rápido
Pergunta 1 de 5
Como se diz «witness» em holandês?
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