Breakdown of De advocaat is het dossier aan het controleren.
zijn
to be
controleren
to check
de advocaat
the lawyer
het dossier
the file / the dossier (case file)
Questions & Answers about De advocaat is het dossier aan het controleren.
Why does het dossier come between is and aan het controleren?
This is the standard word order for the present continuous in Dutch. The phrase zijn aan het + infinitive creates a 'verb bracket'. The conjugated verb (is) takes the second position in the sentence, and aan het controleren is pushed to the end. The direct object (het dossier) gets placed right in the middle of this bracket.
Can I keep the English word order and say 'De advocaat is aan het controleren het dossier'?
No, that sounds very unnatural in Dutch. While English keeps the verb together and puts the object at the end ('is checking the file'), Dutch strictly requires the direct object to go before the aan het part of the verb phrase.
Could I use a posture verb instead, like 'De advocaat zit het dossier te controleren'?
Yes, you absolutely can! If you know the lawyer is sitting at their desk, using zit te controleren (sits checking) is very natural. The aan het structure used in this sentence is just the most neutral way to say it when you don't know or don't want to specify their physical posture.
Why is it het dossier and not de dossier?
Dossier is a neuter noun, so it takes the article het. A helpful tip: many nouns borrowed directly from French, especially those ending in -ier or -ment, are neuter in Dutch.
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