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Haar allergie voor gluten werd vroeger ook niet ontdekt.

Haar allergie voor gluten werd vroeger ook niet ontdekt.
Her allergy to gluten was also not discovered in the past.
From Lesson 293:Placement of also (ook / ook niet)·Dutch

Questions & Answers about Haar allergie voor gluten werd vroeger ook niet ontdekt.

Why does ook niet come after vroeger in this sentence?
In Dutch word order, time adverbs like vroeger (in the past) generally come before focus adverbs like ook (also) and negation like niet (not). Time words typically sit very early in the middle part of the sentence, while the negation gets pushed closer to the end, right before the past participle it negates (ontdekt).
Could I use ook geen instead of ook niet here?
No. You use geen to negate indefinite nouns (like saying "no allergy"). In this sentence, you are negating the action itself—the fact that it was discovered (ontdekt). Because you are negating a verb, you must use niet, making the combination ook niet.
Why is werd used here instead of was to mean "was discovered"?
This sentence is in the passive voice. When describing a dynamic action happening to the subject, Dutch uses the verb worden (to become). Werd is the simple past tense of worden. Using was (from zijn) instead would focus on the static result or condition, rather than the historical act of discovering it.
Does vroeger literally mean "earlier"?
Yes, vroeger is technically the comparative form of vroeg (early). However, it is the standard, everyday word Dutch speakers use to mean "in the past", "formerly", or "back in the day".

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