De overdracht van het perceel duurde anderhalf uur.
The transfer of the plot took an hour and a half.
Breakdown of De overdracht van het perceel duurde anderhalf uur.
het uur
the hour / o'clock
duren
to last / to take time
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
anderhalf
one and a half
het perceel
the plot / the parcel (of land)
de overdracht
the transfer / the handover
Questions & Answers about De overdracht van het perceel duurde anderhalf uur.
Could I use a formal preposition of topic like inzake or aangaande instead of van here?
No, because van shows a direct relationship ('the transfer OF the plot'). Formal prepositions like inzake, omtrent, or aangaande mean 'regarding' or 'concerning'. You would use them for something like a discussion or an agreement, such as: de vergadering aangaande het perceel (the meeting regarding the plot).
Why is 'one and a half' translated as anderhalf rather than literally?
Dutch has a dedicated word for 'one and a half': anderhalf (used for neuter words like uur) or anderhalve (used for common words like week). You cannot translate 'one and a half' word-for-word into Dutch.
Since it is more than one hour, why is uur in the singular form?
In Dutch, certain nouns of measurement, weight, and time (such as uur, jaar, kilo, and meter) almost always stay in the singular form when they directly follow a number.
The English translation says the transfer 'took' time. Why use duurde instead of a form of nemen (to take)?
When referring to the duration of an event, Dutch strictly uses duren (to last). You cannot use nemen to say an event 'took' a certain amount of time, though you can use it to tell a person to take their time (neem je tijd).
Is perceel the most common word for a piece of land?
In real estate, legal, and formal contexts, perceel is the standard term for a 'plot', 'lot', or 'parcel' of land. In everyday conversation about a generic piece of land, you might just hear een stuk land.
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