Breakdown of De freelancer is onafhankelijk en motiveert zichzelf.
zijn
to be
en
and
motiveren
to motivate
de freelancer
the freelancer
onafhankelijk
independent (not dependent, objective)
zichzelf
himself / herself / themselves (emphatic)
Questions & Answers about De freelancer is onafhankelijk en motiveert zichzelf.
Why do we use zichzelf here instead of just zich?
The verb motiveren (to motivate) is not a naturally reflexive verb. Usually, you motivate someone else. When you perform an action on yourself that is normally done to an outside object, you add -zelf to the reflexive pronoun. This emphasizes that the freelancer motivates himself, rather than relying on a manager to do it.
How do you break down the long word onafhankelijk?
It starts with the negative prefix on-, which works exactly like un- or in- in English. The base word is afhankelijk, meaning dependent, which comes from the separable verb afhangen (to depend). Put together, it translates directly to independent.
Would zichzelf change if we specifically knew the freelancer was a woman?
No. In Dutch, the third-person reflexive pronouns zich and zichzelf are completely gender-neutral. They are used for himself, herself, itself, and even the plural themselves.
Why does the verb motiveert come immediately after en?
The word en (and) connects two main clauses and never changes the word order. The subject of the second part is still de freelancer, but it is dropped to avoid repetition. If we kept the subject, the clause would be en hij motiveert zichzelf. Because the subject is left out, the verb motiveert ends up right next to en.
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