Breakdown of De regering voert de hervorming in. De wet is evenwel omstreden.
zijn
to be
de regering
the government
de wet
the law
omstreden
controversial
de hervorming
the reform
invoeren
to introduce
evenwel
however
Questions & Answers about De regering voert de hervorming in. De wet is evenwel omstreden.
Why is the word evenwel placed after the verb is instead of at the beginning of the sentence?
Evenwel is a formal adverb meaning 'however' or 'nevertheless'. Like 'however' in English, it can be placed in the middle of a sentence for stylistic flow. In Dutch main clauses, adverbs usually follow the conjugated verb.
If I want to start the second sentence with evenwel, how does that change the word order?
If you put evenwel at the very beginning, it triggers inversion because it occupies the first position in the sentence. The verb must come second, resulting in: Evenwel is de wet omstreden. However, placing it mid-sentence as shown here is often preferred in formal writing.
What is the literal meaning of the word omstreden?
Omstreden translates to 'controversial', but it is actually the past participle of the verb omstrijden (to fight over). It combines om (around/about) and strijden (to fight), so a law that is omstreden is literally being 'fought over' by opposing sides.
Why is the word in placed at the very end of the first sentence?
This is a quick refresher on separable verbs. The infinitive is invoeren (to introduce or implement). In a standard main clause, the conjugated part (voert) takes the second position, and the separable prefix (in) gets kicked to the very end of the clause.
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