Breakdown of Zodra de zangeres buiten is, roepen de fans haar naam.
zijn
to be
buiten
outside
de naam
the name
haar
her
roepen
to call (shout)
zodra
as soon as
de zangeres
the female singer
de fan
the fan
Questions & Answers about Zodra de zangeres buiten is, roepen de fans haar naam.
Why does the main clause start with the verb roepen?
Because the sentence begins with the subordinate clause Zodra de zangeres buiten is. This entire clause takes up the first position of the overall sentence. To satisfy the strict Dutch V2 (verb-second) rule, the finite verb of the main clause (roepen) must take the second position, which places it immediately after the comma and before its subject (de fans).
Is zodra a subordinating conjunction?
Yes. Zodra (as soon as) introduces a subordinate clause. Just like words such as omdat or als, it forces the conjugated verb (in this case, is) to the very end of its clause.
Since we say voordat and nadat, could I say zodra dat?
No, zodra stands perfectly on its own. While voordat (before) and nadat (after) use dat, adding it to zodra is incorrect in standard Dutch. You might occasionally hear native speakers say zodra dat in fast, casual speech, but you should avoid it, especially in writing.
How does the feminine suffix in zangeres compare to other female profession nouns?
Zangeres uses the suffix -es added to the base noun zanger (singer). Dutch has a few different suffixes for this, including -in (as in boerin, female farmer) and -ster (as in schrijfster, female writer). However, at a B2 level, it is good to know that modern Dutch increasingly uses the base (historically male) form for all genders unless emphasizing the person's gender is strictly necessary.
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