Breakdown of Ze stookt altijd tussen ons.
altijd
always
ons
us (object)
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
tussen
between
stoken
to stir up trouble
Questions & Answers about Ze stookt altijd tussen ons.
Why does stoken mean 'to stir up trouble' here when it usually means 'to heat' or 'to stoke a fire'?
This is a metaphorical use. Just like you can 'stoke a fire' to make it burn hotter in English, in Dutch, you can use stoken to describe fueling a conflict or sowing discord between people.
In English we say she stirs up trouble. Why isn't there a word for 'trouble' or a dummy object like het in the Dutch sentence?
When used to mean 'sowing discord', stoken is an intransitive verb; the 'trouble' is already built into the meaning. Because this lesson focuses on verbs that do require a fixed het or er, it is important to note that stoken does not need one. Adding het here would actually make it sound like she is physically heating a specific object!
Could I use er to say 'she stirs it up', like Ze stookt er altijd?
No, you would not use a lexicalized er here. While many idiomatic verbs require er to sound complete, stoken tussen (to stir up trouble between) works perfectly on its own without any dummy pronouns.
Are there common nouns related to this specific meaning of stoken?
Yes! A person who constantly causes drama or conflict is often called an onruststoker (literally an 'unrest stoker') or simply a stoker.
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