Ik weet niet of de doodsbange jongen in paniek raakt.
I do not know whether the terrified boy panics.
Breakdown of Ik weet niet of de doodsbange jongen in paniek raakt.
ik
I
de jongen
the boy
niet
not
in
in
weten
to know (a fact)
of
if / whether
raken
to get / to become (state change)
doodsbang
terrified
de paniek
the panic
Questions & Answers about Ik weet niet of de doodsbange jongen in paniek raakt.
Why is the verb raakt at the very end of the sentence?
The word of (whether/if) introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb is pushed to the end. So, instead of standard word order (de doodsbange jongen raakt in paniek), the structure forces raakt to the end: of de doodsbange jongen in paniek raakt.
Could I use als instead of of here, since both translate to "if" in English?
No, you must use of here. Use of for indirect yes/no questions (meaning "whether"). Use als for conditional statements (meaning "in the event that"). Because you are expressing uncertainty about a binary outcome (does he panic or not?), of is required.
Literally translated, how does the phrase in paniek raakt work?
The verb raken frequently means "to get into" a certain state, "to become", or "to hit". In paniek raken literally means "to get into a panic" or "to become panicked", which is the standard Dutch phrasing for the English verb "to panic".
How is the adjective doodsbange formed?
It is an expressive compound made of dood (death) and bang (scared), joined by a connecting -s- to mean "scared to death" or "terrified". It gets the standard -e ending because it stands in front of the noun (jongen) and follows a definite article (de).
Since this lesson focuses on laat staan dat (let alone that), how could I add that to this sentence?
You can append it to expand on the uncertainty set up by Ik weet niet of.... For example, "let alone that he runs away" would be: ..., laat staan dat hij wegrent. Remember that dat also introduces a subordinate clause, so the final verb (wegrent) is again pushed to the end.
Learn Ik weet niet of de doodsbange jongen in paniek raakt and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free