Breakdown of Dit beleid is evenwel niet te accepteren.
zijn
to be
niet
not
dit
this (neuter)
accepteren
to accept
het beleid
the policy (strategy, government, business)
evenwel
however
Questions & Answers about Dit beleid is evenwel niet te accepteren.
How does evenwel function here compared to a word like maar?
Evenwel is a formal adverb meaning 'however' or 'nevertheless'. Unlike maar (but), which is a coordinating conjunction that connects two clauses without changing word order, evenwel behaves like other adverbs. If you put it at the start of a clause, it causes inversion. Here, it sits comfortably in the middle of the sentence.
Why isn't evenwel at the very beginning of the sentence?
While you could start the sentence with Evenwel is dit beleid niet te accepteren, placing it right after the finite verb (is) is much more common and flows better in formal Dutch. This placement is exactly the same as how you would use echter (however).
The translation says 'cannot be accepted', but there is no word for 'cannot' in the Dutch sentence. How does this work?
This sentence uses the zijn + te + infinitive construction. In Dutch, this structure is frequently used to express that something can or must be done, usually with a passive meaning. Therefore, is niet te accepteren literally translates to 'is not to accept,' but naturally means 'cannot be accepted' or 'is unacceptable.'
Why does niet come after evenwel and right before te accepteren?
The adverb evenwel gives context to the whole sentence, so it comes early in the middle field. The word niet needs to negate the core action, so it is placed as close to the end as possible, directly before the final verb cluster (te accepteren).
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