Breakdown of Het bewijs ontbreekt, dus de dader moet heel slim zijn.
zijn
to be
heel
very
moeten
to have to, must
dus
so, therefore
Questions & Answers about Het bewijs ontbreekt, dus de dader moet heel slim zijn.
How does moet work here? Is someone forcing the perpetrator to be smart?
No, here moeten is used to express a logical deduction, which is exactly what this lesson covers! Just like in English, it means that based on the situation, the only logical conclusion is that the perpetrator is very smart.
Why isn't there a Dutch word for 'is' to translate 'is missing'?
In Dutch, ontbreken is a verb that inherently means 'to be missing' or 'to lack'. Instead of using a form of the verb 'to be' plus an adjective, Dutch simply uses this active verb: Het bewijs ontbreekt.
Why doesn't the word order invert after dus?
The word dus (so) is a coordinating conjunction. This means it connects two main clauses without changing the word order. It acts just like en (and) or maar (but). After dus, you simply start a normal sentence with the subject (de dader) followed by the conjugated verb (moet).
Why is zijn placed at the very end of the sentence?
When you use a modal verb like moeten in a main clause, the second verb stays in its full infinitive form and is pushed to the very end of the sentence. Here, the conjugated modal verb is moet and the infinitive at the end is zijn (to be).