Breakdown of We zijn bezig de oplevering voor te bereiden.
zijn
to be
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
voorbereiden
to prepare
te
to (infinitive marker)
bezig
busy (occupied, engaged)
de oplevering
the delivery (handover of a building or project)
Questions & Answers about We zijn bezig de oplevering voor te bereiden.
How is the noun oplevering formed from a verb?
It is formed from the verb opleveren (to yield, hand over, or complete). Adding the suffix -ing to a verb stem is a common way to turn an action into a noun (nominalization). In this case, it changes the action of handing something over into the noun de oplevering (the delivery or handover).
Is oplevering the same kind of "delivery" as delivering a package or food?
No, they have different uses. Oplevering specifically refers to handing over a finalized project to a client, such as a completed building, a renovation, or a software system. If you are talking about delivering a physical package or a pizza, you would use de bezorging or de levering.
I usually learn "busy with" as bezig zijn met. Why is there no met in this sentence?
You use met when followed directly by a noun (for example, We zijn bezig met de oplevering). However, when you describe what action you are busy doing using a verb, you drop the met and use a te + infinitive construction instead. You can also optionally include om: We zijn bezig (om) de oplevering voor te bereiden.
Why is the word te placed in the middle of voor te bereiden?
The verb voorbereiden (to prepare) is a separable verb, made of the prefix voor and the base verb bereiden. Whenever a separable verb is used in a te + infinitive structure, the te is always sandwiched right between the separable prefix and the base verb.
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