Breakdown of Er zijn veel mogelijkheden en gelegenheden om samen te werken.
zijn
to be
en
and
veel
much / many / a lot of
samenwerken
to collaborate / to work together
er
there (existential)
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
de mogelijkheid
the possibility
de gelegenheid
the opportunity
Questions & Answers about Er zijn veel mogelijkheden en gelegenheden om samen te werken.
Why do mogelijkheden and gelegenheden end in -heden instead of just adding a normal plural ending?
In Dutch, abstract nouns ending in the suffix -heid (like mogelijkheid for possibility and gelegenheid for opportunity) have an irregular plural. The -heid changes to -heden. Therefore, you get mogelijkheden and gelegenheden.
What is the exact difference between mogelijkheden and gelegenheden in this context?
Mogelijkheden refers to possibilities or options, meaning things that are physically or logically possible to do. Gelegenheden refers to opportunities or occasions, meaning having the right time, event, or chance to do something.
Why do we use om and te before the verb?
The structure om ... te + infinitive is used to express purpose, translating to 'to' or 'in order to' in English. Here, it connects the nouns (mogelijkheden and gelegenheden) to the specific action they are meant for (samenwerken).
Why is te placed between samen and werken rather than before the whole word?
The verb samenwerken (to work together) is a separable verb. When a separable verb is used with te, the word te squeezes exactly between the separable prefix (samen) and the base verb (werken), giving us samen te werken.
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