Breakdown of Hij heeft nog een verplichting af te handelen.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
een
a/an
hebben
to have
nog
still, yet / more, another (with a quantity)
te
to (infinitive marker)
afhandelen
to handle / to deal with
de verplichting
the obligation
Questions & Answers about Hij heeft nog een verplichting af te handelen.
How does the 'to have something to do' structure work in this sentence?
This uses the hebben + te + infinitive structure. You conjugate hebben (heeft), place the object you need to act on (een verplichting) in the middle, and put te + the infinitive (af te handelen) at the very end of the sentence.
Why is te placed in the middle of afhandelen?
The verb afhandelen (to deal with / to handle) is a separable verb. When you need to use te with a separable verb, it always sits between the prefix (af) and the base verb (handelen). Notice that it is written as three separate words: af te handelen.
Why does nog come before een verplichting?
Nog (still) is an adverb of time. In Dutch, time adverbs generally come before the direct object if that object is indefinite (introduced by een, like een verplichting). If the object were definite (like de verplichting), nog would usually go after it.
What does the prefix af add to the verb handelen?
Handelen means 'to act' or 'to trade', but adding the prefix af- gives it a sense of completion. So, afhandelen means to process something completely, to settle it, or to wrap it up, which fits perfectly with completing an obligation.
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