Breakdown of Die moeilijkheden zijn niet makkelijk op te lossen.
zijn
to be
niet
not
op
on
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
makkelijk
easy
te
to (infinitive marker)
oplossen
to solve / to resolve
de moeilijkheid
the difficulty
Questions & Answers about Die moeilijkheden zijn niet makkelijk op te lossen.
Why is the plural of moeilijkheid spelled as moeilijkheden instead of just adding -en?
Nouns ending in the suffix -heid (which turns adjectives into abstract nouns, similar to '-ness' or '-ty' in English) have a special irregular plural. Instead of just adding -en, the -heid changes to -heden. So moeilijkheid (difficulty) becomes moeilijkheden (difficulties).
Why does te go in the middle of oplossen to make op te lossen?
Oplossen (to solve) is a separable verb, made of the prefix op and the verb lossen. When you need to use te before the infinitive of a separable verb, the te always sneaks right between the prefix and the verb part.
Is makkelijk related to moeilijk?
They are exact opposites! Moeilijk means difficult or hard, while makkelijk means easy. This sentence creates a nice little contrast by using the noun form of difficult (moeilijkheden) right next to the adjective for easy (makkelijk).
What does the structure zijn ... te mean in this sentence?
The combination of the verb zijn (to be) plus te and an infinitive is a common Dutch way to express that something can or must be done. Here, zijn niet makkelijk op te lossen translates smoothly to 'are not easy to solve'.
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