Word
Ik zorg ervoor dat de opvoeding niet te streng is.
Meaning
I ensure that the upbringing is not too strict.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Ik zorg ervoor dat de opvoeding niet te streng is.
Why do we use ervoor here instead of just voor?
The verb here is zorgen voor (to ensure / to take care of). In Dutch, when a preposition like voor connects to a dat clause, you can't just say "voor dat". Instead, you combine er and the preposition to make ervoor. It acts as a placeholder that points forward to the dat clause.
Why is the preposition voor required here at all?
It comes from the fixed verb combination zorgen voor. While zorgen alone can mean "to worry", zorgen voor means "to take care of" or "to ensure". Because you always need the voor with this verb, it transforms into ervoor when a dat clause follows.
Why is the verb is at the very end of the sentence?
The word dat (that) introduces a subordinate clause (a dependent part of the sentence). As a quick refresher: in Dutch subordinate clauses, all verbs are pushed to the very end. That is why we say ... dat de opvoeding niet te streng is instead of following the English word order.
Does opvoeding mean the same thing as "education"?