Learn Dutch: Het verleden voelt dichtbij, ondanks dat het drie generaties geleden is. - The past feels close, despite the fact that it is three generations ago.

In Dutch, geleden works exactly like the English word "ago". It is a time postposition, which means it must always be placed after the period of time it refers to. Because of this rule, drie generaties geleden mirrors the English structure perfectly.

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

The phrase ondanks dat (despite the fact that) introduces a subclause. In Dutch subclauses, the conjugated verb is always pushed to the end of the clause. This is why is has to come after geleden.

Why use ondanks dat here instead of just ondanks?

You use ondanks (despite) before a simple noun, such as ondanks de kou (despite the cold). However, because the second half of this sentence contains a full subject and verb (het... is), you need a conjunction to connect the two parts. Adding dat creates the conjunction ondanks dat, which means "despite the fact that".

Could I use dicht instead of dichtbij to mean "close"?

No, you need dichtbij. While the English word "close" can mean both "shut" and "near", Dutch uses different words. Dicht usually means "closed" (like a door), while dichtbij means "nearby" or "close in distance or feeling".