Connecting Your Arguments
When making a persuasive argument or a formal recommendation, you often need to string multiple benefits together. Instead of just saying en (and), use formal adverbial connectors like bovendien (moreover), daarnaast (additionally), and verder (furthermore) to elevate your pitch.
The Verb-Second (V2) Rule
Placing an adverbial connector at the beginning of a sentence triggers inversion to maintain the verb-second (V2) rule. The conjugated verb comes immediately after the connector, pushing the subject to the third position.
| Moreover, the investment will save you a lot of time. | Bovendien zal de investering u veel tijd besparen. |
Notice the word order: Connector (Bovendien) + Verb (zal) + Subject (de investering).
Connectors with Separable Verbs
When you use inversion with a separable verb, the conjugated part of the verb sits in the second position, and the separable prefix is sent to the very end of the clause.
| Additionally, many customers purchase the software. | Daarnaast schaffen veel klanten de software aan. |
Here, the connector daarnaast takes the first position. The verb schaffen stays in the second position, the subject veel klanten follows, and the prefix aan sits at the end.
More Additions: Verder
The exact same rules apply when adding another point with verder.
| Furthermore, the software works very fast. | Verder werkt de software heel snel. |
| Furthermore, we apply a new strategy. | Verder passen wij een nieuwe strategie toe. |
Whether the verb is standard (like werkt) or separable (like toepassen), the connector always forces the conjugated verb into the second slot.
