Word
De golven zijn hoog, desondanks ben ik niet zeeziek.
Meaning
The waves are high, nevertheless I am not seasick.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about De golven zijn hoog, desondanks ben ik niet zeeziek.
Why is it ben ik instead of ik ben after the comma?
Desondanks (nevertheless) is an adverb. When a clause starts with an adverb, it takes the first position. The verb (ben) must take the second position, which forces the subject (ik) into the third position. This is the standard Dutch inversion rule.
What is the singular form of golven and why does the spelling change?
The singular form is golf (wave). In Dutch, when a noun ends in -f, that letter usually changes to a -v- when you add -en to make it plural. You see the same pattern with an -s changing to a -z- (like huis becoming huizen).
Is desondanks a common word to use in everyday conversation?
Desondanks (nevertheless / despite this) is a great word to know, but it sounds slightly formal. In casual speech, a Dutch person is very likely to use toch (yet / still) to express the same contrast, for example: De golven zijn hoog, maar ik ben toch niet zeeziek.
How does Dutch handle other forms of motion sickness, like "carsick"?