Word
Ondanks de tegenstand proberen ze te blijven strijden.
Meaning
Despite the opposition, they try to keep battling.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ondanks de tegenstand proberen ze te blijven strijden.
blijven
to stay
proberen
to try
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
te
to (infinitive marker)
Questions & Answers about Ondanks de tegenstand proberen ze te blijven strijden.
How does "ondanks" affect the word order in this sentence?
The word ondanks (despite) is a preposition, so the phrase ondanks de tegenstand takes up the entire first position in the sentence. Because Dutch follows the verb-second (V2) rule, the main verb proberen must come in the second position, pushing the subject ze after the verb (inversion).
Why do we say "te blijven strijden" to mean "to keep battling"?
The verb blijven literally means "to stay" or "to remain." However, when you pair blijven with another infinitive like strijden, it translates to "to keep doing" that action. English usually uses "keep + -ing" for this, but Dutch uses blijven + infinitive.
Why is there a "te" before the verb cluster "blijven strijden"?
The main verb in this clause is proberen (to try). Just like in English ("to try to do something"), the verb proberen requires the word te before the infinitive it connects to. Because it connects to the double infinitive blijven strijden, the te is placed right before the entire cluster.
Could I use "vechten" instead of "strijden" here?