Breakdown of Buiten dat de standbeelden provocerend zijn, zijn ze ook abstract.
zijn
to be
ook
also / -ever (concessive particle)
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
het standbeeld
the statue
abstract
abstract
provocerend
provocative
buiten dat
besides the fact that
Questions & Answers about Buiten dat de standbeelden provocerend zijn, zijn ze ook abstract.
How does buiten dat affect the word order in the first half of the sentence?
Because buiten dat is a subordinating conjunction, it introduces a dependent clause. This pushes the verb zijn to the very end of that clause, giving us ...provocerend zijn.
Could I use behalve dat instead of buiten dat in this sentence?
Yes, in this context of adding information (meaning 'besides the fact that'), behalve dat and buiten dat are completely interchangeable. Both act as subordinating conjunctions and would produce the exact same word order.
Why does the second part start with zijn ze instead of ze zijn?
The entire first clause (Buiten dat... zijn) acts as the first building block of the sentence. To satisfy the standard Dutch V2 rule, where the main verb must come second, the verb zijn is placed immediately after the comma. This causes an inversion with the subject ze.
Is the word ook required in the second clause?
While not strictly required by grammar, ook (also) makes the sentence sound much more natural. It pairs closely with buiten dat to clearly emphasize that being abstract is an additional quality on top of being provocative.
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