Breakdown of Hij had zijn scriptie vorig jaar al moeten afronden.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
hebben
to have
zijn
his
het jaar
the year
Questions & Answers about Hij had zijn scriptie vorig jaar al moeten afronden.
How exactly does had ... moeten translate to "should have"?
To express an unfulfilled past obligation (something you "should have" done), Dutch uses the past perfect of moeten. Literally, this sentence translates to "He had his thesis last year already to must complete." The combination of had + moeten + infinitive is the standard way to say "should have" done something.
Why is it moeten instead of the past participle gemoeten?
This is the substitute infinitive rule (often called IPP). When a modal verb like moeten is used in a perfect tense alongside another verb (here, afronden), it refuses to become a past participle. Instead, it changes back into its infinitive form. So you say moeten afronden instead of gemoeten afronden.
What is the word order rule for the verbs had, moeten, and afronden here?
The conjugated auxiliary verb had takes the normal second position in the sentence. The remaining verbs are pushed to the very end to form a verb cluster. In these clusters, the modal verb (moeten) almost always comes directly before the main verb (afronden).
Is afronden a separable verb, and why is it written as one word here?
Yes, afronden (to complete / to round off) is a separable verb (af + ronden). However, because it is acting as a full infinitive inside a verb cluster at the end of the sentence, the prefix stays attached to the verb.