Breakdown of Dit raam moet verduisterd worden, opdat het perkament niet verkleurt.
niet
not
dit
this (neuter)
het raam
the window
moeten
to have to, must
worden
to become
verkleuren
to discolor
het perkament
the parchment
verduisteren
to darken
opdat
so that / in order that (purpose)
Questions & Answers about Dit raam moet verduisterd worden, opdat het perkament niet verkleurt.
Why do we use opdat here, and how does it affect the sentence structure?
opdat is a formal subordinating conjunction meaning 'so that' or 'in order that'. Because it introduces a subordinate clause, it pushes the conjugated verb (verkleurt) to the very end of the sentence.
Is opdat commonly used in spoken Dutch, or could I use something else?
opdat is quite formal and mostly found in written texts. In everyday speech, you will almost always hear zodat instead. Just like opdat, zodat also pushes the verb to the end of the clause.
Let's look at moet verduisterd worden. Why do we need worden at the end?
This is the passive voice combined with a modal verb (moet). When you use a modal verb in a passive sentence, the main verb appears as a past participle (verduisterd) and is followed by the infinitive worden (to be or become). Literally, it means 'must darkened become'.
Both verduisterd and verkleurt start with ver-. Is there a pattern here?
Yes! The prefix ver- is often added to adjectives or nouns to create verbs that indicate a change of state. From duister (dark), we get verduisteren (to make dark), and from kleur (color), we get verkleuren (to change color or fade).
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