Breakdown of Het is gelukkig duidelijk dat hij weggaat.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
het
it
weggaan
to leave / to go away (casual, from a place)
dat
that (conjunction)
duidelijk
clear (obvious, comprehensible)
gelukkig
fortunately
Questions & Answers about Het is gelukkig duidelijk dat hij weggaat.
Why is the verb weggaat at the very end of the sentence?
The word dat (that) connects a sub-clause (a smaller sentence) to the main one. Conjunctions like dat force the verb in their part of the sentence to move all the way to the end. This is a very common and strict rule in Dutch!
I thought weggaan (to leave) splits into gaat weg. Why is it written as one word here?
You are right that weggaan is a separable verb, and in a normal main sentence it splits (for example: hij gaat weg). But because the word dat pushes the verb to the end, the separated part (weg) and the verb (gaat) are forced into the same spot. When they meet at the end of a clause like this, they are glued back together as one word: weggaat.
Doesn't gelukkig usually mean "happy"?
It does! When describing a person or thing, gelukkig means "happy". However, when used as an adverb to give an opinion on a whole situation—like in this sentence—it means "fortunately" or "luckily".
The English translation says "is leaving", but the Dutch sentence just uses the simple present tense. Is that normal?
Yes, very normal. Dutch uses the simple present tense much more often than English. The single word weggaat can mean "leaves" or "is leaving" depending on the context. You don't need a complex continuous form to show that the action is happening right now.
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