Breakdown of Als ze niets voor elkaar voelen, wijzen ze de match af.
voor
for (on behalf of)
niets
nothing
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
elkaar
each other
Questions & Answers about Als ze niets voor elkaar voelen, wijzen ze de match af.
How do we use a preposition with elkaar here, and why isn't it combined like ervoor?
Unlike the pronoun er (which combines with prepositions to form words like ervoor), the reciprocal pronoun elkaar behaves like a normal noun. You simply put the preposition directly in front of it: voor elkaar (for each other).
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb wijzen instead of ze wijzen?
The first part of the sentence (Als ze niets voor elkaar voelen) is a subordinate clause that takes up the entire first position of the main sentence. Because the Dutch main verb must sit in the second position, wijzen comes immediately after the comma, and the subject (ze) swaps places to follow it. This is called inversion.
Where does the word af at the very end of the sentence come from?
It is the separable prefix of the verb afwijzen (to reject). In a main clause, the conjugated part of a separable verb (wijzen) takes the normal verb position, while its prefix (af) gets kicked to the very end of the sentence.
Why is voelen placed at the end of the first clause?
The clause starts with als (if), which is a subordinating conjunction. Words like this introduce a dependent clause and always push the conjugated verb (voelen) to the end of that specific clause.