Breakdown of Elk probleem of elke scheur moet meteen worden gemeld.
het probleem
the problem
moeten
to have to, must
meteen
immediately
worden
to become
of
or
elk
each, every
de scheur
the crack
melden
to report
Questions & Answers about Elk probleem of elke scheur moet meteen worden gemeld.
How does the passive voice work with the modal verb moet in this sentence?
To form a passive sentence with a modal verb in the present tense, you use the conjugated modal verb (moet) in the normal second position, and put the passive infinitive (worden) plus the past participle (gemeld) at the very end of the sentence.
Could I say gemeld worden instead of worden gemeld at the end of the sentence?
Yes! In Dutch, when you have a past participle and an infinitive at the end of a clause, you can usually put them in either order. Both worden gemeld and gemeld worden are completely correct and natural.
Why does the sentence use elk probleem but then elke scheur?
This happens because of the grammatical gender of the nouns. Probleem is a neuter noun (het probleem), so it gets the uninflected form elk. Scheur (crack or tear) is a common noun (de scheur), so it gets the extra -e to become elke.
Why do we use worden here instead of zijn to mean 'be'?
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