Breakdown of Volgens de recensent laat de truffel zich perfect combineren met wijn.
met
with
zich
oneself
de wijn
the wine
laten
to let (laten we ... = let's ...)
volgens
according to
combineren
to combine
perfect
perfect
de recensent
the critic
de truffel
the truffle
Questions & Answers about Volgens de recensent laat de truffel zich perfect combineren met wijn.
How does laat ... zich combineren mean "can be combined"?
The construction zich laten followed by a bare infinitive like combineren expresses passive potentiality. While it literally translates to "lets itself combine," it is the standard Dutch way to say that something "can be combined" or "allows itself to be combined."
Why does the verb laat come before the subject de truffel?
Because the sentence starts with the phrase Volgens de recensent (According to the critic). Whenever a main clause starts with something other than the subject, Dutch uses inversion, meaning the finite verb (laat) must swap places to come right before the subject (de truffel).
Could I place zich somewhere else in the sentence?
Not naturally. In an inverted sentence, the reflexive pronoun (zich) almost always comes immediately after the subject (de truffel). You cannot move it further back or attach it to the infinitive at the end.
Why is met wijn placed at the very end, after the infinitive combineren?
Prepositional phrases like met wijn can optionally be pushed past the verb cluster at the end of a sentence. While you could technically say ...zich perfect met wijn combineren, placing the prepositional phrase at the end is very common in Dutch and often sounds much less cluttered.
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