Word
We gebruiken die eenheden om de veiligheid te verbeteren.
Meaning
We use those units to improve safety.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of We gebruiken die eenheden om de veiligheid te verbeteren.
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
gebruiken
to use
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
te
to (infinitive marker)
Questions & Answers about We gebruiken die eenheden om de veiligheid te verbeteren.
Why is the plural of eenheid written as eenheden instead of just adding -en?
Nouns ending in -heid have an irregular plural form. Instead of keeping the original spelling and adding a suffix, the -heid ending completely changes to -heden. So, eenheid (unit) becomes eenheden (units). You will see this shift happen with almost all abstract nouns ending in -heid.
If we needed to make veiligheid plural, would it follow the same rule?
Yes! While talking about multiple types of safety is less common, if you needed the plural, veiligheid would become veiligheden. It follows the exact same pattern as eenheden.
Why do we need both om and te before verbeteren?
The structure om ... te followed by an infinitive verb (like verbeteren) is used to express a goal or purpose. It translates to "in order to" or just "to" in English. Here, om de veiligheid te verbeteren literally means "in order the safety to improve".
Why do we use die for "those" instead of dat?