Breakdown of Mijn vader heeft een allergie, dus is mijn broer ook allergisch.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
ook
also / -ever (concessive particle)
hebben
to have
de broer
the brother
mijn
my
de vader
the father
dus
so, therefore
de allergie
the allergy
allergisch
allergic
Questions & Answers about Mijn vader heeft een allergie, dus is mijn broer ook allergisch.
Why does ook go right before allergisch in this sentence?
In this sentence, ook (also) focuses on the adjective allergisch. The rule for focus adverbs is that they are placed immediately before the specific word they emphasize. It also properly sits in the middle field of the sentence, after the finite verb (is) and the subject (mijn broer).
Why is the word order dus is mijn broer instead of dus mijn broer is?
The word dus (so) is acting as an adverb here, taking the first position in the second clause. Whenever a clause starts with a word other than the subject, Dutch uses inversion: the verb (is) swaps places to come before the subject (mijn broer).
Could I say dus mijn broer is ook allergisch without swapping the verb and subject?
Yes! Dus is a flexible word. It can also act as a coordinating conjunction, similar to en (and) or maar (but). When used that way, it takes "position 0" and does not change the word order, making dus mijn broer is... perfectly correct as well. However, the inverted version used here is very common.
What is the difference between allergie and allergisch?
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