Breakdown of De zending is te traceren tot aan de grens.
zijn
to be
te
to (infinitive marker)
de grens
the border
de zending
the shipment
traceren
to track
tot aan
as far as (physical or temporal)
Questions & Answers about De zending is te traceren tot aan de grens.
Why use tot aan here instead of just tot?
While tot on its own can mean up to, adding aan emphasizes a physical boundary or limit. Tot aan translates to as far as or right up to. Here, it highlights that the tracking stops exactly at the physical line of the border.
Could I use tot en met instead of tot aan in this sentence?
No, that would sound unnatural. Tot en met means up to and including and is used for items in a sequence, like dates, ages, or chapters. Because a border is a physical location and not part of a countable series, you must use tot aan.
Why does it say is te traceren? I thought can be tracked would use the verbs kunnen and worden.
You are right that kan worden getraceerd is a perfectly valid translation. However, Dutch frequently uses the structure zijn + te + infinitive to express that something can be done. It acts as a shorter, very common alternative to the passive voice with kunnen.
Is traceren the most common way to say track for a package?
It is very common, but you will also frequently see the verb volgen (to follow) used for shipments. Interestingly, the English noun phrase Track & Trace is also extremely common in the Netherlands and Belgium when referring to the tracking portal or code itself.
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