Questions & Answers about Voor zover ik weet, is het hout brandbaar.
How is the word brandbaar formed here?
It comes from the verb branden (to burn). By taking the stem brand and adding the suffix -baar, it creates an adjective meaning "capable of burning" or "flammable". This works just like adding "-able" to a verb in English.
In English, "flammable" and "inflammable" confusingly mean the same thing. Does Dutch have a similar issue?
Luckily, Dutch is much more logical here! Brandbaar means it can burn (flammable). If something cannot burn, you simply add the negative prefix on- to make onbrandbaar (non-flammable).
Why is the verb is placed before the subject het hout?
Because the sentence starts with the subordinate clause voor zover ik weet. In Dutch, when a sentence starts with a full clause rather than the main subject, the main clause must use inversion (verb first, then subject) to keep the conjugated verb in the second logical position.
Could I use tot zover instead of voor zover to say "as far as"?
No, they are used differently. Voor zover means "to the extent that" or "as far as" (as in voor zover ik weet). Tot zover means "up to this point" or "so far," and is typically used when wrapping up a topic, like saying tot zover het nieuws (that is all for the news).