Breakdown of Volgens het onderzoek eten we te veel suiker.
veel
much / many / a lot of
eten
to eat
te
too
de suiker
the sugar
Questions & Answers about Volgens het onderzoek eten we te veel suiker.
Why do we use volgens here instead of namens?
volgens means "according to" and is used to state the source of information or an opinion. namens means "on behalf of" and is used when someone is acting or speaking for someone else. A study provides information, so it is the source (volgens).
Why is the verb eten placed before the subject we?
This is an example of inversion. Because the sentence starts with the phrase Volgens het onderzoek, the verb and subject must swap places so the verb stays in the second logical position. If you started with the subject, it would be normal order: We eten te veel suiker volgens het onderzoek.
Does onderzoek mean "research" or "a study"?
It can mean both! In Dutch, onderzoek covers "research" in general, as well as a specific "study" or "investigation". Because it has the definite article het, it refers to a specific study or a specific body of research in this sentence.
Is te veel always written as two words?
Yes, when it means "too much" or "too many", te veel is written as two separate words. It is placed directly in front of the noun, just like in English, so you don't need an extra word like van (of) between te veel and suiker.