Breakdown of Er worden hier veel flats en wolkenkrabbers gebouwd.
hier
here
en
and
veel
much / many / a lot of
worden
to become
er
there (existential)
bouwen
to build
de wolkenkrabber
the skyscraper
de flat
the apartment block
Questions & Answers about Er worden hier veel flats en wolkenkrabbers gebouwd.
Why is worden used here instead of zijn for the passive voice?
In Dutch, the passive voice for an ongoing action uses the verb worden (to become), while zijn (to be) is used when the action is already finished. Because the buildings are currently being built, we use worden along with the past participle gebouwd.
Why does the sentence start with Er?
Er acts as a placeholder subject here. When the real subject of a passive sentence is indefinite, meaning we are talking about a general amount like veel flats en wolkenkrabbers rather than specific buildings, Dutch puts Er at the start and moves the real subject later in the sentence.
Why is the past participle gebouwd at the very end of the sentence?
In a standard Dutch main clause, the conjugated verb, which is worden in this case, takes the second position. Any other verbs in the clause, such as the past participle gebouwd, are pushed to the very end of the sentence.
Is flats a native Dutch word?
It is a loanword! Dutch borrowed the British English word flat to mean an apartment or an apartment building. In Dutch, you make it plural by just adding an s, giving you flats.
How is the word wolkenkrabbers formed?
It translates literally to cloud scratchers! It is a compound word made of wolken (clouds) and krabbers (scratchers). This is the Dutch equivalent of the English word skyscrapers.
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