Question 1

Why do we use tegen elkaar instead of met elkaar for "with each other"?

Accepted Answer

In Dutch, the adjective eerlijk (honest) is usually followed by the preposition tegen (towards/against), not met (with). So, "to be honest with each other" translates to eerlijk zijn tegen elkaar. It helps to think of it as being honest towards someone.

Question 2

Why is the verb hebben placed at the very end of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

The word zodat (so that) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a subclause, which in Dutch always pushes the conjugated verb (hebben) to the very end of that clause.

Question 3

Why use geen instead of niet to say "we have no secrets"?

Accepted Answer

You use geen (no / not any) to negate nouns that are indefinite, meaning they don't have words like "the" or "my" in front of them. Since geheimen (secrets) is a general plural noun here, we negate it with geen. If you were denying a specific secret, you would use niet (e.g., we hebben het geheim niet).

Question 4

Are there other words for elkaar that I might hear?

Accepted Answer

Yes! In casual, spoken Dutch, you will very often hear mekaar, which is just an informal version of elkaar. You might also occasionally see elkander in older texts, but that is extremely formal and old-fashioned. Sticking to elkaar is perfect for both speaking and writing.

Wij zijn eerlijk tegen elkaar, zodat we geen geheimen hebben.

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