Judging by the evidence
When you want to draw a conclusion based on external evidence, sensory input, or things you can directly observe, use the phrase afgaande op ("judging by" or "going by").
When you start a sentence with this participle phrase, it occupies the first position. The main clause that follows must undergo inversion, placing the verb immediately before the subject.
| Judging by what we observe, the manor is completely safe. | Afgaande op wat we waarnemen, is het landhuis volkomen veilig. |
| Judging by the loud noises, a poltergeist might haunt this place. | Afgaande op de harde geluiden, kan een klopgeest hier rondspoken. |
Starting from a premise
If you are instead building a deduction based on a hypothesis, an existing document, or a set of accepted facts, use uitgaande van ("assuming" or "based on"). This literally means "going out from" a starting premise.
Just like afgaande op, starting your sentence with uitgaande van triggers inversion in the main clause.
| Assuming this hypothesis, we will observe nothing strange tonight. | Uitgaande van deze hypothese, zullen we vanavond niets vreemds waarnemen. |
| Based on the diary, this old manor must be haunted. | Uitgaande van het dagboek, moet het in dit oude landhuis rondspoken. |
Forming conclusions
Both of these expressions are useful when evaluating claims—whether you are investigating a haunted manor or testing a scientific theory. You will frequently pair them with verbs like concluderen (to conclude) or verwerpen (to reject) to establish what is plausible.
| Assuming a rational point of view, we can conclude that it was an illusion. | Uitgaande van een rationeel standpunt, kunnen we concluderen dat het een illusie was. |
| Judging by the damage, we can conclude that this theory is plausible. | Afgaande op de schade, kunnen we concluderen dat deze theorie aannemelijk is. |
| Judging by the new information, we reject the earlier hypothesis about the haunted house. | Afgaande op de nieuwe informatie, verwerpen we de eerdere hypothese over het spookhuis. |