Breakdown of Sinds het begin zijn de veranderingen merkbaar.
zijn
to be
sinds
since
het begin
the beginning
de verandering
the change
merkbaar
noticeable
Questions & Answers about Sinds het begin zijn de veranderingen merkbaar.
The lesson is about sinds as a subordinating conjunction, but is it acting as one here?
No, in this sentence sinds is acting as a preposition. It is followed by the noun phrase het begin rather than a full clause with a subject and a verb. Because it does not introduce a dependent clause, it does not push any verbs to the end of the sentence.
Why is the verb zijn placed before the subject de veranderingen?
Why does Dutch use the present tense zijn (are) here instead of a perfect tense like in English (have been)?
In Dutch, when a state or action started in the past and is still ongoing, you typically use the present tense. English usually prefers the present perfect for this, but Dutch uses the present tense zijn because the changes are still noticeable right now.
How does the suffix in merkbaar work?
The suffix -baar is the Dutch equivalent of the English suffix -able. It attaches to the stem of the verb merken (to notice or perceive) to create the adjective merkbaar, which translates perfectly to noticeable.
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