Breakdown of De politie zou snel moeten ingrijpen.
snel
fast
moeten
to have to, must
zullen
shall / will
de politie
the police
ingrijpen
to intervene
Questions & Answers about De politie zou snel moeten ingrijpen.
In English we say 'the police are', so why does this sentence use the singular verb zou instead of the plural zouden?
Unlike in English, the Dutch word politie is a singular noun. It refers to the police force as a single unit. Therefore, it takes the singular verb form zou.
How does the combination of zou and moeten translate to 'should'?
To express 'should' as advice or a moral obligation, Dutch uses the conditional form of zullen (here: zou) combined with the infinitive moeten. Literally, it translates to something like 'would have to'.
Why are moeten and ingrijpen next to each other at the end of the sentence?
This is a standard Dutch verbal cluster. In a main clause, the conjugated verb (zou) takes the second position, and any other verbs get pushed to the end. Since moeten and ingrijpen are both infinitives here, they stack up together at the end of the sentence.
I know ingrijpen (to intervene) is a separable verb. Why isn't it separated here?
Separable verbs only split when they act as the conjugated verb in the sentence. Because zou is the conjugated verb here, ingrijpen stays in its full, attached infinitive form at the end of the sentence.
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