Breakdown of Aangezien het verhoor lang duurde, besloot de verdachte te zwijgen.
duren
to last / to take time
lang
long
te
to (infinitive marker)
aangezien
since / as (because)
de verdachte
the suspect
zwijgen
to remain silent
het verhoor
the interrogation
besluiten te
to decide to
Questions & Answers about Aangezien het verhoor lang duurde, besloot de verdachte te zwijgen.
Why does the second half of the sentence start with the verb besloot instead of the subject de verdachte?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire subordinate clause (Aangezien het verhoor lang duurde) occupies the first position in the main sentence. Because the verb must come second, the main verb (besloot) comes immediately after the comma, forcing the subject (de verdachte) to move behind it.
Could I use omdat (because) instead of aangezien (since) here?
Yes, you could use omdat without changing the word order, as both are subordinating conjunctions that push the verb to the end of their clause. However, aangezien is slightly more formal, which fits perfectly with the legal context of a police interrogation (het verhoor).
Why is it te zwijgen rather than just zwijgen?
The verb besluiten (to decide) requires the word te when followed by an infinitive verb, similar to how the formal obligation verb dienen te works in this lesson. If the sentence had used a modal verb instead, like wilde (wanted), the te would disappear: wilde de verdachte zwijgen.
What is the difference between zwijgen and just saying stil zijn?
While stil zijn generally means 'to be quiet' or 'to make no noise', zwijgen specifically means 'to not speak' or 'to remain silent'. In a legal context like this, zwijgen is the exact term used for a suspect exercising their right to remain silent.
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