Word
In plaats van dat de receptie helpt, biedt de manager een drankje aan.
Meaning
Instead of the reception helping, the manager offers a drink.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of In plaats van dat de receptie helpt, biedt de manager een drankje aan.
een
a/an
helpen
to help
het drankje
the drink
de manager
the manager
Questions & Answers about In plaats van dat de receptie helpt, biedt de manager een drankje aan.
Why do we use in plaats van dat here instead of just in plaats van te?
We use in plaats van dat because the two actions have different subjects. The reception (de receptie) is the subject of helping, but the manager (de manager) is the subject offering a drink. If the same person were doing both actions, you could use in plaats van with te and an infinitive.
Why is the word order biedt de manager instead of de manager biedt in the second half?
The entire first clause (In plaats van dat de receptie helpt) acts as one big block that takes up the first position of the sentence. Because the main verb must always be in the second position in Dutch, the verb biedt comes immediately after the comma, followed by the subject de manager.
Why is the verb helpt at the end of the first clause?
In plaats van dat acts as a subordinating conjunction. Just like omdat or dat, it forces all the verbs in its clause to move to the end. Since helpt is the only verb in that part, it goes right before the comma.
Where does the word aan at the end of the sentence come from?
It is the prefix of the separable verb aanbieden (to offer). In a main clause, the conjugated part of the verb (biedt) goes to the active verb position, while the separable prefix (aan) gets kicked to the very end of the sentence.