Breakdown of De kritische lezer denkt dat de auteur een fout maakt.
een
a/an
maken
to make
de fout
the mistake
denken
to think
dat
that (conjunction)
de auteur
the author
de lezer
the reader
kritisch
critical
Questions & Answers about De kritische lezer denkt dat de auteur een fout maakt.
Why do we use denkt here instead of vindt?
The verb denken (to think) is used for beliefs or assumptions about facts. The reader assumes a mistake was made, which is either factually true or false. If the sentence was about a subjective personal opinion, like thinking a book is boring, you would use vinden.
Why does the verb maakt go at the very end of the sentence?
The word dat (that) introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch, subordinate clauses push the conjugated verb (maakt) all the way to the end of the clause instead of keeping it in the second position.
Why is there an -e at the end of kritische?
We usually add an -e to an adjective when it comes right before a noun. The main exception is when describing a singular het-word following een (a) or no article. Since lezer (reader) is a de-word, kritisch gets an -e and becomes kritische.
Could I use another verb for making a mistake, like doen?
No, Dutch uses the exact same phrasing as English here. To make a mistake is always een fout maken. Using doen (to do) would sound very unnatural.
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