Breakdown of Ik proef dat de soep erg lekker is.
ik
I
zijn
to be
de soep
the soup
lekker
tasty / nicely / pleasantly
erg
very / really
dat
that (conjunction)
proeven
to taste
Questions & Answers about Ik proef dat de soep erg lekker is.
Why is the verb is at the very end of the sentence?
Because of the word dat (that). dat is a subordinating conjunction, which means it introduces a dependent subclause. Just like the time words terwijl (while) and totdat (until) from this lesson, dat forces the conjugated verb (is) all the way to the end of its clause.
Can I leave out dat and just say "Ik proef de soep is erg lekker" like we often do in English?
No, in Dutch you cannot skip the word dat when connecting clauses like this. You must always include it, which means you also have to use the verb-final word order: ...dat de soep erg lekker is.
Why is the verb proef used here instead of smaak? Don't they both mean "taste"?
They do, but they are used differently! proeven is the active action a person does (for example, Ik proef means "I am tasting"). smaken is a property of the food itself (for example, De soep smaakt goed means "The soup tastes good"). Since "I" am doing the action here, we use a form of proeven.
The sentence says erg lekker (very tasty). Could I use heel lekker instead?
Yes, absolutely! Both erg and heel mean "very" when used before an adjective like lekker. They are completely interchangeable in this context.
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