Breakdown of De rechercheur stelt een vraag aan de getuige.
de vraag
the question
de rechercheur
the detective
de getuige
the witness
stellen
to pose (a question)
Questions & Answers about De rechercheur stelt een vraag aan de getuige.
Why does the sentence use stelt (puts/poses) instead of vraagt (asks)?
In English you ask a question, but in Dutch you cannot say een vraag vragen because it sounds repetitive and unnatural. Instead, you use the fixed expression een vraag stellen (literally: to pose or put a question).
Why do we need the word aan before de getuige?
Because the detective is posing a question to the witness. With verbs of giving, showing, telling, or asking, Dutch uses aan to point out the person receiving the action (the indirect object).
Could I write this without aan, similar to the English translation where the detective asks the witness a question?
Yes! If you drop aan, the receiver (de getuige) must move right next to the verb. You would say: De rechercheur stelt de getuige een vraag. Both ways are perfectly correct and common.
This lesson is about indirect questions. How would I change this sentence to say the detective asks the witness what he saw?
To introduce an indirect question, you drop een vraag stellen and switch back to the standard verb vragen (to ask). You would say: De rechercheur vraagt aan de getuige wat hij zag. Notice how in the indirect question part (wat hij zag), the verb moves to the very end.
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