Breakdown of Ondanks dat de situatie hopeloos is, geven we niet op.
zijn
to be
niet
not
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
opgeven
to give up
de situatie
the situation
ondanks dat
despite the fact that
hopeloos
hopeless
Questions & Answers about Ondanks dat de situatie hopeloos is, geven we niet op.
Why is hopeloos spelled with one 'o' when the Dutch word for hope is hoop?
When attaching the -loos suffix to hoop, a connecting -e- is added, forming hoop + e + loos. This creates an open syllable (ho-pe-loos). Following Dutch spelling rules, a long vowel in an open syllable is written with a single letter, so the double 'o' reduces to one.
Why use Ondanks dat here instead of just Ondanks?
Ondanks is a preposition (despite) and must be followed by a noun phrase, like in ondanks de regen (despite the rain). Because this sentence follows 'despite' with a full subordinate clause containing a subject and verb (de situatie hopeloos is), you must use the conjunction ondanks dat (despite the fact that).
Why does the second part of the sentence say geven we instead of we geven?
This is due to the Dutch V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire first subordinate clause (Ondanks dat...) occupies the first grammatical position in the sentence. To keep the main conjugated verb in the second position, the verb (geven) must come immediately after the comma, causing inversion with the subject (we).
Where does the word op come from at the end of the sentence?
It is the prefix of the separable verb opgeven (to give up). In a main clause, the conjugated part of the verb (geven) takes the second position, while the separable prefix (op) is sent to the very end of the clause.
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