Breakdown of De notaris weigert de koper omtrent de schade te informeren.
de schade
the damage
te
to (infinitive marker)
weigeren
to refuse
de koper
the buyer
de notaris
the civil law notary
informeren
to inform
omtrent
regarding / concerning
Questions & Answers about De notaris weigert de koper omtrent de schade te informeren.
Why use omtrent here instead of the standard over?
Omtrent is a formal preposition meaning 'regarding' or 'concerning'. While over (about) is perfectly fine grammatically, omtrent fits the formal, legal, or business register of a sentence involving a notaris (civil law notary).
Could I substitute omtrent with inzake or aangaande in this sentence?
Yes, aangaande and inzake belong to the same formal register. However, inzake often translates closer to 'in the matter of' and is heavily used for specific legal cases or files. This makes omtrent or aangaande slightly more natural here when talking about being informed 'about' a general topic like property damage.
Why does te informeren go at the very end of the sentence?
The main conjugated verb is weigert (refuses). The action being refused is a completely separate clause: de koper omtrent de schade te informeren. In a te-infinitive clause like this, the te + infinitive is pushed to the very end, placing it after both the object (de koper) and the prepositional phrase (omtrent de schade).
Is a notaris exactly the same as a 'notary public' in English?
Not quite. In the Netherlands and Belgium, a notaris is a highly qualified legal professional with a law degree who drafts binding legal documents for buying houses, wills, and corporate structures. Translating it merely as 'notary public' can sometimes understate their authority.
Could the phrase omtrent de schade be placed at the very end, after te informeren?
Yes! While the te-infinitive usually caps off the sentence, Dutch allows prepositional phrases (phrases starting with a preposition like omtrent) to break this rule and be placed after the final verb block. So, De notaris weigert de koper te informeren omtrent de schade is also perfectly correct.
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