Breakdown of Wij moeten dat netwerk steeds sneller uitbreiden.
wij
we
snel
fast
dat
that (het-words)
moeten
to have to, must
Questions & Answers about Wij moeten dat netwerk steeds sneller uitbreiden.
How does steeds sneller translate to 'faster and faster'?
The word steeds usually means 'always' or 'constantly', but when you combine it with a comparative adjective like sneller (faster), it means 'increasingly' or 'more and more'. So steeds sneller literally means 'constantly faster', which we naturally express as 'faster and faster' in English.
Why is uitbreiden placed at the very end of the sentence?
Because the sentence uses the modal verb moeten (must). In Dutch, a conjugated modal verb in the second position pushes the main action verb (uitbreiden) all the way to the end of the clause in its full infinitive form.
Is uitbreiden a separable verb?
Yes, it is a separable verb formed from uit (out) and breiden (to extend). If it were the main conjugated verb, it would split apart, as in: wij breiden het netwerk uit. However, because the modal verb moeten pushes it to the end as a full infinitive, the prefix and the verb stay glued together as a single word.
Why do we say dat netwerk instead of die netwerk?