Breakdown of De muziek ontroert niet alleen het publiek, maar het instrument klinkt ook prachtig.
ook
also / -ever (concessive particle)
niet
not
maar
but
de muziek
the music
alleen
alone; only
prachtig
gorgeous
klinken
to sound
het publiek
the audience
ontroeren
to move (emotionally)
het instrument
the instrument
Questions & Answers about De muziek ontroert niet alleen het publiek, maar het instrument klinkt ook prachtig.
Why are maar and ook separated in the second part of the sentence?
In the structure niet alleen ... maar (ook) (not only ... but also), maar is a coordinating conjunction that joins the two clauses together, so it sits at the very beginning of the second clause. Meanwhile, ook (also) acts as an adverb inside that second clause. Because of this, it follows normal word order rules and comes after the conjugated verb (klinkt).
Does maar change the word order in the second clause?
No. Maar (but) is a coordinating conjunction, which means it links two independent sentences without changing their internal word order. After maar, the second clause starts normally with the subject (het instrument) followed immediately by the verb (klinkt).
Why is niet alleen placed after the verb ontroert?
This is because of the strict verb-second (V2) rule in Dutch main clauses. The subject De muziek takes up the first position, so the verb ontroert must be in the second position. Niet alleen acts as an adverb describing the action, so it has to wait until after the verb.
Can I use ontroeren to talk about moving to a new house?
No. Ontroeren specifically means to move someone emotionally, like a sad movie or beautiful music touching your heart. If you are physically moving objects, you use verplaatsen, and if you are moving to a new house, you use verhuizen.
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