Breakdown of Wij houden de helft van de taart over.
wij
we
de taart
the cake
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
de helft
the half
overhouden
to have left over
Questions & Answers about Wij houden de helft van de taart over.
Why do we use de helft here instead of just half?
De helft is a noun meaning the half. You use it when talking about a specific portion of a noun, usually followed by van, as in de helft van de taart. The word half is an adjective or adverb used to describe something, like een half uur (a half hour) or halfvol (half full).
If I want to say a quarter of the cake, would I also use van?
Yes! Just like de helft van, you use van with other noun fractions. You would say een kwart van de taart (a quarter of the cake) or een derde van de taart (a third of the cake).
Why is the word over at the very end of the sentence?
It belongs to the separable verb overhouden, which means to have left over or to keep. In a standard main clause, the verb splits: the conjugated part (houden) takes the second position, and the prefix (over) gets kicked to the end of the sentence.
Could I use the verb overblijven here instead of overhouden?
Learn Wij houden de helft van de taart over and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free