Breakdown of Hij legde uit dat hij het misverstand al had toegelicht.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
hebben
to have
uitleggen
to explain
al
already
Questions & Answers about Hij legde uit dat hij het misverstand al had toegelicht.
Why do we use had toegelicht instead of heeft toegelicht in the second part of the sentence?
This is the sequence of tenses in reported speech. If the original quote used the present perfect ('Ik heb het al toegelicht'), and we report it using a past tense verb like legde uit, the reported verb takes a step back in time. The present perfect (heeft/heb) shifts to the past perfect (had).
What is the difference between uitleggen and toelichten, since both can mean 'to explain'?
Uitleggen is the standard, everyday word for 'to explain'. Toelichten is a bit more formal and specifically means 'to clarify' or 'to provide more details about' something that might be confusing, like het misverstand (the misunderstanding).
Could I change the word order at the end to ... al toegelicht had?
Yes, you can! In a subordinate clause introduced by dat, the verbs go to the end. When you have an auxiliary verb (had) and a past participle (toegelicht), Dutch allows you to put them in either order. Both had toegelicht and toegelicht had are perfectly fine.
Why is uitleggen separated into legde uit, but toelichten is written as one word (toegelicht)?