Breakdown of Vindt u de aan de pers aangekondigde hervorming omstreden?
u
you (formal)
vinden
to think / consider (hold an opinion)
aan
to (recipient)
aankondigen
to announce
omstreden
controversial
de hervorming
the reform
de pers
the press
Questions & Answers about Vindt u de aan de pers aangekondigde hervorming omstreden?
How does the word order in de aan de pers aangekondigde hervorming work?
This is the extended attributive phrase, often called the 'accordion' structure. English places extra information after the noun ('the reform announced to the press'). Dutch stretches open the space between the article (de) and the noun (hervorming) and puts all the descriptive info inside. The participle (aangekondigde) acts as the main adjective right before the noun, and its own modifiers (aan de pers) are placed right before it.
Why does aangekondigde end in an -e?
Here, the past participle of aankondigen is functioning as an adjective. Because it modifies hervorming, which is a de word, it takes the standard -e ending for adjectives.
Why is the word omstreden at the very end of the sentence?
The sentence uses the structure iets [adjective] vinden (to find something [adjective]). The 'something' in this case is the massive object phrase de aan de pers aangekondigde hervorming. The adjective describing it, omstreden (controversial), has to wait until that entire object is finished before it can be placed.
Why is it Vindt u with a -t, since inverted verbs in questions usually drop the -t ending?
You only drop the -t in an inverted question when the subject is the informal jij or je (like in Vind je). The formal pronoun u keeps the standard -t ending in the present tense, even when the subject and verb switch places.
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