Breakdown of Het protest moest vreedzaam blijven.
blijven
to stay
moeten
to have to, must
het protest
the protest
vreedzaam
peaceful
Questions & Answers about Het protest moest vreedzaam blijven.
Why do we use moest here instead of moet?
Moest is the simple past tense of the modal verb moeten (must / to have to). Because the sentence is about something in the past (had to), we use the past tense singular form to match Het protest.
Why is the verb blijven at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch, when you use a conjugated modal verb like moest in the normal second position of the sentence, the second verb gets pushed to the very end as a full infinitive. That is why blijven sits at the end.
Is there a trick to remembering the word vreedzaam?
Yes! It comes from the noun vrede, which means peace. The Dutch suffix -zaam works a lot like the English suffix -ful, turning the noun into the adjective vreedzaam (peaceful).
Does blijven only mean to remain?
It translates to remain in this formal context, but it is also the standard everyday Dutch verb for to stay. For example, you use blijven when saying you are staying at home for the weekend.
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