Breakdown of De oogst mislukt vaak doordat het weer extreem is.
zijn
to be
vaak
often
het weer
the weather
doordat
because of the fact that / because (cause)
extreem
extreme
de oogst
the harvest
mislukken
to fail (be unsuccessful)
Questions & Answers about De oogst mislukt vaak doordat het weer extreem is.
What is the difference between doordat and omdat here? Both translate to "because".
Doordat specifically indicates an objective cause (a direct physical cause and effect). Extreme weather causes a harvest to fail, regardless of human choices. Omdat usually gives a reason or motivation involving a human decision. Dutch speakers often use omdat for both in casual speech, but doordat is more precise here.
Why is the verb is at the very end of the sentence?
Doordat is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause, which pushes the conjugated verb (is) to the very end of that clause. That is why we say doordat het weer extreem is instead of using the normal main clause word order (het weer is extreem).
The verb mislukt looks like a past participle (like "has failed"). Is this sentence in the past tense?
No, this is the present tense! The infinitive is mislukken (to fail). To form the present tense for an "it" subject like de oogst, we take the stem (misluk) and add -t, giving us mislukt. It happens to look exactly like the past participle because verbs starting with prefixes like mis- do not get a ge- added to them in the perfect tense.
Could I use the preposition door instead of doordat to say "because of"?
Yes, but you would have to change the sentence structure. Doordat must be followed by a full clause with a subject and a verb (het weer extreem is). Door is a preposition, so it is followed only by a noun or noun phrase. You could say: De oogst mislukt vaak door het extreme weer (The harvest often fails because of the extreme weather).
Learn De oogst mislukt vaak doordat het weer extreem is and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free