Breakdown of Hij probeert met weinig inspanning veel te bereiken.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
veel
much / many / a lot of
met
with
proberen
to try
weinig
little / few
te
to (infinitive marker)
de inspanning
the effort (exertion)
bereiken
to achieve / to reach (a goal)
Questions & Answers about Hij probeert met weinig inspanning veel te bereiken.
Why is te bereiken at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch, when you use a verb like proberen (to try) with a second verb (to achieve), the second verb takes the form of te + infinitive and moves to the very end of the sentence. All the extra details, like met weinig inspanning (with little effort) and the object veel (a lot), are sandwiched between probeert and te bereiken.
Could I use the English word order and say Hij probeert te bereiken veel?
No, that sounds unnatural in Dutch. The object of the action (veel) must come before the verb that applies to it (te bereiken). Because te bereiken is pushed to the end of the sentence, veel sits right in front of it.
What is the difference between weinig inspanning and een beetje inspanning?
Weinig means 'little' or 'not much', highlighting a lack of something. Een beetje means 'a little bit', which focuses on the positive presence of something. Here, the sentence emphasizes that he is putting in almost no effort, so weinig is the correct choice.
This lesson is about ondanks (despite), but that word isn't here. How does this sentence fit in?
This sentence expresses a strong contrast between 'little effort' and 'achieving a lot', which is the core idea of concession. You could easily rewrite this same idea using the lesson's grammar: Hij probeert veel te bereiken, ondanks een gebrek aan inspanning (He tries to achieve a lot, despite a lack of effort).
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