Breakdown of Ondanks de fout laten we het erbij.
het
it
de fout
the mistake
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
laten
to let (laten we ... = let's ...)
ondanks
despite
erbij
at it / with it (accompanying, belonging to)
Questions & Answers about Ondanks de fout laten we het erbij.
What does the combination of het and erbij do in this sentence?
This sentence uses the fixed idiom het erbij laten, which means "to leave it at that" or "to let the matter rest". The het acts as a dummy object representing the situation, while erbij (a combination of er + bij) points to the current state of things. They are lexicalized, meaning they have fused with the verb to create this specific meaning and cannot be swapped out.
Why do we use the preposition bij (inside erbij) here?
In Dutch, when you figuratively leave a situation "at" its current state, you use the preposition bij. Because it refers to a vague "that" or "it", it combines with er to form the pronominal adverb erbij (literally "there-at" or "at it").
Why is the verb laten placed before the subject we?
This is due to the V2 (verb-second) rule. The sentence starts with the prepositional phrase Ondanks de fout (Despite the mistake). Because this phrase occupies the first grammatical position, the verb laten must take the second position, pushing the subject we behind it.
Could I use hoewel instead of ondanks here?
Not with this exact sentence structure. Ondanks is a preposition meaning "despite" and is followed directly by a noun phrase (de fout). Hoewel is a conjunction meaning "although" and requires a full subclause with its own subject and verb, such as: Hoewel er een fout is, laten we het erbij.
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