Breakdown of Ondanks het slechte weer bezoeken veel onderzoekers de symposia in de musea.
veel
much / many / a lot of
in
in
het weer
the weather
bezoeken
to visit
slecht
bad
het museum
the museum
ondanks
despite
het symposium
the symposium
de onderzoeker
the researcher
Questions & Answers about Ondanks het slechte weer bezoeken veel onderzoekers de symposia in de musea.
Why do the plurals symposia and musea end in '-a'?
Words of Latin or Greek origin ending in -um, like symposium and museum, traditionally form their plural by changing the -um to -a. In modern Dutch, the regular plurals symposiums and museums are also correct and very common, but you will often see the classical -a endings in formal writing or academic contexts.
Why is the verb bezoeken placed before the subject veel onderzoekers?
This is because of inversion. In Dutch, the conjugated verb is almost always the second element in the sentence. Since this sentence starts with the descriptive phrase Ondanks het slechte weer (element 1), the verb bezoeken takes the second spot. The subject veel onderzoekers is then pushed immediately after the verb.
Why does slecht have an -e at the end in het slechte weer?
Weer is a het-word (a neuter noun). When a het-word is used with the specific article het, the adjective before it gets an -e ending. If you used the unspecific article een, it would just be een slecht weer, but with het, the extra -e is required.
Can I use ondanks to mean 'even though', like saying 'ondanks het regende'?
No, ondanks translates to 'despite' or 'in spite of' and must be followed by a noun or noun phrase, like het slechte weer (the bad weather). If you want to say 'even though' and follow it with a full clause containing a subject and a verb (like 'even though it rained'), you need to use the conjunction hoewel.
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