Breakdown of Enerzijds is er oude bebouwing, anderzijds bouwen we moderne flats.
zijn
to be
oud
old
er
there (existential)
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
bouwen
to build
modern
modern
de flat
the apartment block
enerzijds
on the one hand
anderzijds
on the other hand (often paired with enerzijds)
de bebouwing
the built environment
Questions & Answers about Enerzijds is er oude bebouwing, anderzijds bouwen we moderne flats.
How do 'enerzijds' and 'anderzijds' affect the word order in both halves of this sentence?
Both enerzijds and anderzijds act as adverbs that take up the first position in their respective clauses. Because Dutch uses verb-second (V2) word order in main clauses, starting with an adverb triggers inversion (putting the verb before the subject). That is why we see is er instead of er is, and bouwen we instead of we bouwen.
Why use the word 'bebouwing' here instead of 'gebouwen' for buildings?
While gebouwen refers to individual, countable buildings, bebouwing is an uncountable collective noun. It refers to the general built environment, architecture, or the state of an area being developed. The speaker is talking about the general presence of old architecture rather than specific old buildings.
Why is it 'oude bebouwing' with an -e at the end of 'oud'?
Bebouwing is a de-word (almost all nouns ending in -ing are). In Dutch, adjectives placed directly before a noun get an -e ending almost all the time. The only exception is when you have an indefinite, singular het-word (like een oud huis). Since bebouwing is a de-word, the adjective must be oude.
Is 'flats' an English loanword, and does it mean exactly the same thing?
Yes, it is a loanword from British English, but in Dutch it exclusively means an apartment or an apartment building (often short for flatgebouw). You cannot use it as an adjective to mean 'level' or 'smooth' like you can in English; the Dutch word for that is plat.
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