Breakdown of Tijdens de quiz testen zij hoeveel we precies weten.
zij
they
precies
exactly
hoeveel
how much / how many
weten
to know (a fact)
Questions & Answers about Tijdens de quiz testen zij hoeveel we precies weten.
Why is weten used in this sentence instead of kennen?
Weten is used for knowing facts or information, and it is the verb you must use when the knowledge is expressed as a clause starting with a question word like hoeveel (how much). Kennen is only used for being familiar with a person, place, or specific noun.
Why is the word order testen zij instead of zij testen?
The sentence starts with the time phrase Tijdens de quiz. In a standard Dutch main clause, the conjugated verb must be in the second position. To keep testen in position two, the subject zij has to move immediately after it.
Why is weten at the very end of the sentence?
The second part of the sentence, hoeveel we precies weten, is a subordinate clause. When a clause is introduced by a question word like hoeveel, all the verbs in that specific clause are pushed to the very end.
In English we say 'exactly how much', so why isn't precies placed before hoeveel?
In Dutch, the question word hoeveel forms the strict starting boundary of the subordinate clause. You cannot put adverbs like precies in front of it. Instead, it goes inside the clause, placing it right before the verb at the end.