Breakdown of Ook al is het oud, het papier is recyclebaar.
zijn
to be
oud
old
het
it
het papier
the paper
ook al
even if / even though
recyclebaar
recyclable
Questions & Answers about Ook al is het oud, het papier is recyclebaar.
How does the suffix -baar work with English loan verbs like recyclen?
The suffix -baar indicates potentiality, translating to "-able" or "-ible" in English. You form these adjectives exactly as you do with native Dutch verbs: by adding -baar to the stem of the verb. For the verb recyclen (to recycle), the stem is recycle, which gives us recyclebaar (recyclable).
Why isn't the verb inverted in the main clause (het papier is) after the comma?
This is a very specific, surprising exception in Dutch grammar! Normally, when a sentence starts with a dependent clause, that clause acts as "position one," forcing the following main clause to start with the verb (inversion). For example, if you used hoewel (although), it would be: Hoewel het oud is, is het papier recyclebaar. However, a clause starting with ook al (even though) does not trigger inversion in the main clause. The main clause keeps its regular Subject-Verb order: het papier is.
Why is the word order Ook al is het oud instead of pushing the verb to the end?
Unlike most subordinating conjunctions (such as omdat, dat, or hoewel) which push the verb to the very end of their clause, ook al behaves differently. It acts like an adverbial phrase that takes up the first position, so it is immediately followed by the verb, and then the subject. That is why you say Ook al is het oud, whereas with hoewel, you would use the verb-final order: Hoewel het oud is.
How do you pronounce a hybrid word like recyclebaar?
You pronounce the stem using the English pronunciation (recycle) and the suffix using the Dutch pronunciation (-baar). It is extremely common in Dutch to keep the original foreign pronunciation for the stem of a loanword while attaching standard Dutch prefixes or suffixes to it.
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