Breakdown of Volgens onze regels kunnen wij u zonder de bon niets vergoeden.
u
you (formal)
wij
we
onze
our (de-words, plurals)
kunnen
can
de regel
the rule
niets
nothing
zonder
without
volgens
according to
de bon
the receipt
vergoeden
to reimburse
Questions & Answers about Volgens onze regels kunnen wij u zonder de bon niets vergoeden.
Why is the word order kunnen wij instead of wij kunnen?
Because the sentence starts with the phrase Volgens onze regels (According to our rules). When a main clause starts with a phrase other than the subject, the conjugated verb must take the second position, forcing the subject to come right after it. This is the exact same verb-second (V2) inversion rule that applies when you start a sentence with an adverbial connector like desondanks.
Why is the pronoun u placed immediately after wij?
In Dutch, object pronouns like u (you, formal) like to appear as early as possible in the sentence. They typically come right after the conjugated verb and the subject, well before prepositional phrases like zonder de bon (without the receipt).
Why use niets here instead of niet?
niets means 'nothing' or 'not anything', whereas niet just means 'not'. In this sentence, niets acts as the direct object: it is the actual 'thing' being reimbursed. If you just wanted to say 'we cannot reimburse you', you would use niet, but here the sentence literally says we can reimburse you 'nothing'.
Why is vergoeden placed at the very end of the sentence?
Because this sentence uses a modal verb, kunnen (can). In Dutch main clauses, the conjugated verb takes the second position, and any other verbs in the sentence, like the infinitive vergoeden (to reimburse), are sent all the way to the end.
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