Breakdown of In hun jeugd waren zij nooit onzeker.
zijn
to be
zij
they
in
in
hun
their
nooit
never
de jeugd
the youth
onzeker
insecure
Questions & Answers about In hun jeugd waren zij nooit onzeker.
Why does the verb waren come before the subject zij?
This happens because of the Dutch "verb second" rule. Whenever you start a sentence with something other than the subject—like the time phrase In hun jeugd (In their youth)—the verb must still take the second spot. This pushes the subject zij to the third spot, right after the verb waren.
Zij can mean "she" or "they". How do we know it means "they" here?
The verb gives it away! Waren is the plural past tense of zijn (to be). If the sentence were about "she", it would use the singular form was: In haar jeugd was zij nooit onzeker.
How does the word onzeker work?
It is made by adding the prefix on- to the word zeker (certain / sure). Just like "un-" or "in-" in English, the Dutch on- makes a word mean its opposite. Therefore, onzeker translates perfectly to "uncertain" or "insecure".
Is the word jeugd (youth) related to any other common Dutch words?
Yes, jeugd is the noun form related to the adjective jong (young). You will often see it used with the preposition in, like in this sentence, to talk about someone's childhood or early years.
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