Breakdown of Zij werken hier vrijwillig, ook al sponsoren veel bedrijven dit project.
hier
here
zij
they
veel
much / many / a lot of
werken
to work
het project
the project
dit
this (neuter)
het bedrijf
the company
ook al
even if / even though
vrijwillig
voluntary / voluntarily
sponsoren
to sponsor
Questions & Answers about Zij werken hier vrijwillig, ook al sponsoren veel bedrijven dit project.
Why is the word order sponsoren veel bedrijven? Shouldn't the verb go to the end of the clause?
The phrase ook al (even though) is a major exception to the normal rule for subordinate clauses. While conjunctions like omdat or hoewel push the verb to the end, ook al functions somewhat like a conditional phrase ("even if"). Because of this, it triggers inversion, placing the conjugated verb (sponsoren) right before the subject (veel bedrijven).
Could I use hoewel instead of ook al in this sentence?
Yes, but you would need to change the word order. Because hoewel is a regular subordinating conjunction, it pushes the conjugated verb to the very end of the clause. The sentence would become: Zij werken hier vrijwillig, hoewel veel bedrijven dit project sponsoren.
How do English loan verbs like sponsoren work in Dutch?
Dutch treats English loan verbs as regular weak Dutch verbs whenever possible. The stem is simply the English verb (sponsor). For the plural present tense, you add -en, giving us sponsoren. If it were singular ("he sponsors"), you would add a -t, making it hij sponsort.
Why is it veel bedrijven rather than vele bedrijven?
For plural countable nouns like bedrijven (companies), the uninflected form veel is the standard, everyday choice. The form vele does exist, but it sounds formal or poetic and is mostly used to emphasize "a great many" or "many distinct" things.
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