Breakdown of Buiten dat u van het schilderij houdt, vindt u dit detail belachelijk.
u
you (formal)
houden van
to love / to like
dit
this (neuter)
het schilderij
the painting
Questions & Answers about Buiten dat u van het schilderij houdt, vindt u dit detail belachelijk.
How does buiten dat affect the word order in the first part of the sentence?
Buiten dat (besides the fact that) acts as a subordinating conjunction here. This means it introduces a subordinate clause, which forces all the verbs to the end of that clause. That is why the verb houdt comes at the very end of the first clause, after van het schilderij.
Why does the second part start with the verb vindt instead of the subject u?
The entire first clause (Buiten dat u van het schilderij houdt) takes up the first grammatical position in the sentence. In Dutch, the working verb of the main clause must always come in the second position (the V2 rule). Therefore, the verb vindt comes right after the comma, resulting in an inversion of the subject and verb to vindt u.
Could I use behalve dat instead of buiten dat in this sentence?
Yes, you can often use them interchangeably, but there is a slight difference in nuance. Buiten dat usually adds information (besides the fact that / in addition to), whereas behalve dat often emphasizes an exception (except for the fact that). In this context, buiten dat works perfectly because it highlights that loving the painting and finding the detail ridiculous are two true things existing side by side.
Why is the phrase houden van split up in the first clause?