Breakdown of De leraar benadrukte dat de opmerking belangrijk was.
zijn
to be
belangrijk
important
dat
that (conjunction)
de leraar
the teacher (schoolteacher)
de opmerking
the remark
benadrukken
to emphasize
Questions & Answers about De leraar benadrukte dat de opmerking belangrijk was.
Why is was used here instead of is?
This is due to the sequence of tenses in reported speech. The teacher's original words were likely in the present tense: De opmerking is belangrijk. Because the reporting verb is in the past tense (benadrukte), the verb in the reported clause shifts back a tense, changing is to was.
Why is was pushed to the very end of the sentence?
The word dat (that) introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb is always pushed to the end of the clause. So, in dat de opmerking belangrijk was, the verb was lands at the end.
What is the root of the verb benadrukte?
It comes from the infinitive benadrukken (to emphasize). You can see the noun nadruk, which means emphasis or stress, inside it. The prefix be- turns it into an action, meaning to put emphasis on something.
Why does benadrukte only have one k, while the infinitive benadrukken has two?
This is due to Dutch spelling rules about syllable length. In the infinitive benadrukken, the double k keeps the u short. When we add the past tense ending -te to the stem (benadruk), the syllable ends in a consonant anyway, so we no longer need the second k to keep the vowel short.
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