Abstract
This contribution explains why the Dutch passive voice is a problem for Polish students and how passive constructions and their equivalents in their native language interfere in their use. The contribution first briefly introduces the passive voice constructions in Dutch and Polish. Then is shown, on the basis of translated sentences, where and in which elements the problem lies. The first reason is that both the worden-passief (action-passive) and the zijn-passief (state-passive) can be translated in Polish with the verb to be. Polish second language speakers of Dutch speak of a state while meaning an event (or vice versa). Moreover, the impersonal passive (except for very rare cases), which is often used in Dutch, is absent in Polish. In case of active use of Dutch by Polish students, they will tend to avoid passive constructions rather and replace them by constructions similar to equivalents of the impersonal passive as expressed in their Polish mother tongue.
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