Breakdown of Het weer veranderde razendsnel, dus we werden kletsnat.
het weer
the weather
veranderen
to change
worden
to become
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
dus
so, therefore
kletsnat
soaking wet
razendsnel
lightning fast
Questions & Answers about Het weer veranderde razendsnel, dus we werden kletsnat.
How is the elative compound razendsnel formed, and what does the first part mean?
It is formed by combining razend (raging, furious) and snel (fast). In elative compounds, the first word acts as an extreme intensifier for the second. Together, it translates to "lightning fast" or "at breakneck speed".
What does the klets- in kletsnat refer to?
Klets on its own mimics a slapping or splashing sound, like a wet towel hitting the floor. When used as an intensifier in the elative compound kletsnat, it upgrades nat (wet) to mean absolutely drenched or "soaking wet". Another standard alternative you might hear is drijfnat (from drijven, to float).
The English translation says "we got soaking wet", so why use werden instead of a form of krijgen?
English frequently uses "to get" to mean "to become" (getting tired, getting wet). In Dutch, when "to get" indicates a change of state, you must use worden. You only use krijgen when receiving a physical object, a message, or an illness.
Why does dus keep the normal subject-verb word order (we werden) instead of pushing the verb to the end of the sentence?
Dus is one of the coordinating conjunctions (along with en, maar, of, and want). These conjunctions simply glue two independent clauses together without changing the word order in the second clause. That is why it remains we werden rather than pushing the verb to the back.
Would razendsnel or kletsnat ever get an -e added to the end?
Yes, if they were placed directly before a noun. For example, een kletsnatte handdoek (a soaking wet towel). In this sentence, razendsnel functions as an adverb and kletsnat is a predicative adjective (it comes after the linking verb werden), so they both remain uninflected without the -e.
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