Sentence-Level Evaluation Adverbs
Sentence-level adverbs of evaluation, such as hopelijk (hopefully) and ongetwijfeld (undoubtedly), express your opinion about an entire situation.
In a Dutch sentence, these adverbs appear early in the "middle field" (the space between the conjugated verb and any verbs at the end). If the sentence has a definite object (like die mythe), the object typically comes before the evaluation adverb.
| The students will hopefully read that myth soon. | De studenten zullen die mythe hopelijk snel lezen. |
If there is no definite object, the evaluation adverb sits directly after the conjugated verb and the subject.
| Although the myth is famous, it is undoubtedly fake. | Hoewel de mythe beroemd is, is hij ongetwijfeld nep. |
Negation and Location
When a sentence contains a negation (like niet), the evaluation adverb comes before the negative word. This shows you are evaluating the fact that something is not happening.
| Therefore, this ancient legend is unfortunately not true. | Daarom klopt deze eeuwenoude legende helaas niet. |
Similarly, an evaluation adverb comes before information about place or location.
| According to the folktale, the monster is fortunately said to live far away. | Volgens het volksverhaal zou het monster gelukkig ver weg wonen. |
Combining the Rules
These evaluation adverbs—including natuurlijk (naturally/of course) and helaas (unfortunately)—behave consistently, sitting before negations and predicate nouns (like een onsterfelijk monster).
| I naturally do not believe in that supernatural curse. | Ik geloof natuurlijk niet in die bovennatuurlijke vloek. |
| The werewolf is unfortunately an immortal monster. | De weerwolf is helaas een onsterfelijk monster. |
Notice how these rules combine: when a definite object (dit dorp) and a negative word (nooit) appear together, the evaluation adverb sits right between them.
| The werewolf will hopefully never visit this village. | De weerwolf zal dit dorp hopelijk nooit bezoeken. |
