Breakdown of Wij moeten de schade compenseren.
wij
we
moeten
to have to, must
de schade
the damage
compenseren
to compensate
Questions & Answers about Wij moeten de schade compenseren.
In English we say "compensate for the damage". Why is there no preposition like voor in the Dutch sentence?
In Dutch, compenseren is a transitive verb, meaning it takes a direct object without needing a preposition. You just say iets compenseren (to compensate something), so de schade connects directly to the verb.
Could I use vergoeden instead of compenseren here?
Yes, Wij moeten de schade vergoeden is actually more common in everyday Dutch when talking about paying for physical damage. Compenseren is also correct but can sound slightly more formal or apply to broader situations (like compensating for a loss of time).
This lesson is about enerzijds and anderzijds. If I wanted to say "On the one hand, we must compensate for the damage...", how would that affect the word order?
Is schade countable? Could I say schades if multiple things were broken?
No, schade is an uncountable noun in Dutch, just like "damage" is in English. Even if several different things were destroyed, you still just refer to it as a lot of damage: veel schade.
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