Breakdown of Volgens de experts zijn die criteria niet duidelijk.
zijn
to be
niet
not
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
duidelijk
clear (obvious, comprehensible)
volgens
according to
de expert
the expert
het criterium
the criterion
Questions & Answers about Volgens de experts zijn die criteria niet duidelijk.
What is the singular form of criteria, and why does it end in -a here?
The singular form is het criterium. This is a classical loanword. In Dutch, many words ending in -ium or -um form their plural by replacing that ending with -a (like het centrum becoming de centra or het museum becoming de musea). Note that criteriums is also a grammatically correct plural, but criteria is very common and sounds a bit more professional.
Why is the verb zijn placed before the subject die criteria?
Because the sentence starts with the phrase Volgens de experts (According to the experts). In Dutch main clauses, the conjugated verb must always sit in the second position. When a descriptive phrase takes up that first slot, the subject gets bumped to right after the verb. This rule is called inversion.
Since the singular is het criterium, shouldn't we use dat for 'those'?
No, because criteria is plural. In Dutch, all plural nouns are treated as de words, even if they are het words in the singular. Therefore, you must always use die (those) or deze (these) for plural nouns, never dat or dit.
Is experts also considered a loanword plural?
Yes, de expert is a loanword borrowed from French/English. Instead of getting the standard Dutch -en ending, many modern loanwords simply take an -s to make the plural. Because the pronunciation of the vowel before it doesn't change when you add the s, you just write experts without needing an apostrophe.
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