Breakdown of We benadrukten dat we nooit roddelden.
nooit
never
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
dat
that (conjunction)
roddelen
to gossip
benadrukken
to emphasize
Questions & Answers about We benadrukten dat we nooit roddelden.
Why is roddelden in the past tense here if the original statement was likely 'we never gossip' in the present tense?
This is due to the rules of reported speech. When the main reporting verb (benadrukten) is in the past tense, the verb in the reported dat-clause usually shifts back one tense. So the present tense shifts to the simple past (roddelden).
Why do benadrukten and roddelden have different past tense endings (-ten versus -den)?
This is the 't kofschip rule in action. The stem of benadrukken ends in a k (which is in the word 't kofschip), so it gets the -te(n) ending. The stem of roddelen ends in an l (not in 't kofschip), so it takes the -de(n) ending.
Why is roddelden pushed to the very end of the sentence?
The conjunction dat (that) always introduces a subordinate clause. In a Dutch subordinate clause, the working verb is pushed to the end, placing roddelden after the adverb nooit.
What is the root of the verb benadrukken?
It is built from the noun nadruk (emphasis). The common prefix be- is often used to turn a noun into a transitive verb, so benadrukken literally means 'to put emphasis on'.
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