Word
Weet je dat alleen het innerlijk ertoe doet?
Meaning
Do you know that only the inner character matters?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Weet je dat alleen het innerlijk ertoe doet?
weten
to know (a fact)
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
alleen
alone; only
dat
that (conjunction)
Questions & Answers about Weet je dat alleen het innerlijk ertoe doet?
Why is ertoe doet written together at the end of the sentence?
The second half of the sentence is a subordinate clause introduced by dat (that). In Dutch subordinate clauses, all verbs are pushed to the end. The verb here is the separable verb ertoe doen (to matter). When the conjugated part (doet) is pushed to the end, it bumps back into the separable part (ertoe) and they are written as one word.
How would you say "Only the inner character matters" as a regular main clause?
In a main clause, the conjugated verb takes the second position, and the separable part gets pushed further back. You would say: Alleen het innerlijk doet ertoe.
What does ertoe doen literally mean?
It translates roughly to "to do to it" (er = there/it, toe = to, doen = to do). However, it is a fixed expression that simply means "to matter" or "to make a difference".
What kind of word is innerlijk here?
Innerlijk is usually an adjective meaning "inner" or "internal". By putting the neutral "het" article in front of it, it turns into a noun meaning "the inner self" or "the inside". Turning adjectives into nouns like this is a great way to expand your Dutch vocabulary!