Breakdown of Zij hebben daar overal naar gezocht, zodat ze het snel konden vinden.
daar
there
zij
they
hebben
to have
snel
fast
naar
to
vinden
to find
zoeken
to look for
het
it
overal
everywhere
kunnen
can
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
zodat
so that
Questions & Answers about Zij hebben daar overal naar gezocht, zodat ze het snel konden vinden.
Why do we use daar and naar to mean "for it"?
The verb zoeken (to search) takes the preposition naar (to look for). In Dutch, you cannot combine a preposition directly with het. Instead, you must use a pronominal adverb. The word het changes into er or daar, giving us ernaar or daarnaar (for it / for that).
Why are daar and naar separated by overal?
As you are learning in this lesson, pronominal adverbs like daarnaar are often split. When you split them, other words in the sentence—especially adverbs like overal (everywhere)—tuck neatly between the two halves. This word order sounds very natural in Dutch.
Why is the word order ze het snel konden vinden instead of ze konden vinden het snel?
The word zodat (so that) is a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a subordinate clause, which forces all verbs to the very end of the sentence. That is why the modal verb konden (could) and the infinitive vinden (find) are stacked together at the end.
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