Word
In naam des konings benoemen wij u tot dit ambt.
Meaning
In the name of the king, we appoint you to this office.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about In naam des konings benoemen wij u tot dit ambt.
Why do we use des konings instead of van de koning?
des konings is an old genitive (possessive) form meaning "of the king". In everyday modern Dutch, you would indeed say van de koning. However, the genitive case survives in fixed, highly formal expressions like in naam des konings. The word des is the old "of the" for masculine and neuter nouns, and the extra -s on koning marks the possession.
Why is there no article before naam? Shouldn't it be in de naam?
In standard modern Dutch, you normally would use the article and say in de naam van. But because this entire phrase is a frozen relic from older Dutch, the grammar rules of the past apply, which often omitted the article in such prepositional phrases. It is best to treat in naam des as a single fixed chunk.
Why is the preposition tot used here instead of naar or aan for "to"?
The verb benoemen (to appoint) pairs directly with the preposition tot to indicate the position or role someone is receiving. Benoemen tot is a fixed verb-preposition combination that translates to "appoint to" or "appoint as", as in benoemen tot dit ambt (appoint to this office).
Why are wij and benoemen inverted?