Word
Voor de zekerheid betalen we deze keer contant.
Meaning
Just to be sure, we are paying in cash this time.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Voor de zekerheid betalen we deze keer contant.
betalen
to pay
deze
this / these
voor
for (on behalf of)
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
Questions & Answers about Voor de zekerheid betalen we deze keer contant.
The lesson is about voor het geval dat (in case). Why use voor de zekerheid here instead?
Voor het geval (dat) is a conjunction, meaning it introduces a specific scenario with a subject and a verb. Voor de zekerheid literally means 'for the certainty' (just to be sure). You use it when you want to express 'just in case' as a general precaution, without spelling out the exact hypothetical situation.
Why is the word order betalen we instead of we betalen?
This is a classic case of inversion. Because the sentence starts with the phrase Voor de zekerheid rather than the subject, the verb betalen must stay in the second position, pushing the subject we to the third position.
Why is deze keer placed before contant?
Dutch sentences generally follow the Time-Manner-Place rule. Deze keer (this time) tells us when, while contant (in cash) tells us how. Since time comes before manner, deze keer goes first.
Is it also possible to just say cash betalen?
Yes, the English loanword cash is very common in Dutch. You will often hear people say cash betalen. However, contant is the traditional Dutch word and is still widely used everywhere, so you will definitely need to recognize it.