Breakdown of De docent zei dat er een misverstand was geweest nadat zij hadden overlegd.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
de docent
the teacher
zij
they
Questions & Answers about De docent zei dat er een misverstand was geweest nadat zij hadden overlegd.
Why do we use was geweest instead of is geweest here?
This is a classic example of reported speech. Because the main verb zei (said) is in the past tense, the tense of the original statement shifts further back in time. The teacher originally said, 'Er is een misverstand geweest' (present perfect). To report it in the past, is shifts to was, making it past perfect (was geweest).
Why are the verbs was geweest at the very end of the dat clause?
The word dat (that) introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch subordinate clauses, all verbs are pushed to the end. So instead of following the English word order, the verbs go at the end of the clause: dat er een misverstand was geweest.
Why is the word er needed before een misverstand?
We use er here as a placeholder subject because the real subject, een misverstand (a misunderstanding), is indefinite (it uses 'een' instead of 'het'). In Dutch, sentences use er when introducing a new, non-specific subject to say that it exists or happened.
Why does the sentence use hadden overlegd after nadat?
The word nadat (after) means one action was completed before another. Because the consulting happened before the misunderstanding (which is already in the past), we use the past perfect tense (hadden overlegd). Just like dat, nadat creates a subordinate clause, which pushes its verbs to the end.