Breakdown of Zoiets heb ik nooit meegemaakt.
nooit
never
meemaken
to experience
zoiets
something like that
Questions & Answers about Zoiets heb ik nooit meegemaakt.
This lesson is about zo'n and zulke. Why does this sentence use zoiets?
While zo'n and zulke are used directly before a noun (like zo'n probleem for "such a problem"), zoiets stands on its own as a pronoun. It simply combines zo (such/so) and iets (something) to mean "something like that" or "such a thing".
Why is the word order Zoiets heb ik instead of Ik heb zoiets?
Starting the sentence with Zoiets gives it strong emphasis, similar to saying "Something like that I have never experienced!" in English. Because the sentence begins with something other than the subject (ik), the verb (heb) must remain in the second position, forcing the subject to swap places and come right after it. This is known as inversion.
Where does the word meegemaakt come from?
It is the past participle of the separable verb meemaken (to experience / to go through). When forming the past participle of a separable verb in Dutch, the -ge- is placed between the separable prefix (mee) and the main verb part (maakt). This results in mee + ge + maakt.
Could I put nooit at the end, like "Zoiets heb ik meegemaakt nooit"?
No. In Dutch compound tenses, the past participle (in this case, meegemaakt) is pushed to the very end of the clause. Other information in the sentence, including adverbs like nooit (never), must come before it.
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