Breakdown of De bassist heeft anderhalve week naar de versterker gezocht.
hebben
to have
naar
to
de week
the week
anderhalf
one and a half
de bassist
the bass player
de versterker
the amplifier
zoeken naar
to search for
Questions & Answers about De bassist heeft anderhalve week naar de versterker gezocht.
Why is it anderhalve week instead of the plural anderhalve weken?
In Dutch, the fractional quantifier for one and a half (anderhalf or anderhalve) always takes a singular noun. So while English uses the plural 'weeks', Dutch strictly uses the singular week.
Why does anderhalf get an -e at the end here?
You add an -e because week is a de-word (de week). If you were using a het-word, like het jaar (the year), the word would remain uninflected: anderhalf jaar.
Why is the preposition naar used here to mean 'for'?
The verb zoeken (to search or to look) requires the preposition naar when you are looking for a specific object or person. You have to learn these fixed combinations, as a direct translation with voor is incorrect.
Could I put anderhalve week at the very end of the sentence?
No, that would sound unnatural. Dutch sentences generally follow a rule where time comes early in the sentence. The time expression (anderhalve week) must come before the thing you are searching for (naar de versterker).
Is gezocht a regular past participle?
No, zoeken is an irregular verb. The past participle is gezocht and it takes the helping verb hebben (seen here as heeft).
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