Breakdown of De spion ondergaat een gevaarlijke missie om het bericht te ontcijferen.
een
a/an
het bericht
the message
gevaarlijk
dangerous
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
de spion
the spy
de missie
the mission
ondergaan
to undergo / to set (sun)
ontcijferen
to decipher
Questions & Answers about De spion ondergaat een gevaarlijke missie om het bericht te ontcijferen.
Why is ondergaat written as one word here instead of being split into gaat ... onder?
The prefix onder- is a dual-nature prefix. When ondergaan means "to go down" (like a sinking ship or the setting sun), it is separable (gaat onder) and the stress is on ónder. However, when it means "to undergo" or "to endure," it is inseparable. The stress falls on the verb stem (ondergáán), so it stays together as a single word in the present tense.
If I change this sentence to the present perfect ("The spy has undergone..."), what is the past participle of ondergaan?
It remains ondergaan. Because the "undergo" version of this verb is inseparable, it doesn't take the standard -ge- prefix in the perfect tense (e.g., De spion heeft de missie ondergaan). If you were using the separable version meaning "to go down," the past participle would get a -ge- in the middle: ondergegaan.
Does the verb ontcijferen (to decipher) at the end of the sentence also have a separable and inseparable version?
No. While prefixes like onder-, door-, and over- can change behavior based on meaning and stress, the prefix ont- is always inseparable. Verbs starting with be-, ge-, ver-, ont-, er-, and her- never split, regardless of the context.
Could we drop the word om and just write een gevaarlijke missie het bericht te ontcijferen?
No, you need om here because the om ... te structure translates specifically to "in order to." It introduces the purpose or goal of the spy's mission. Without om, the sentence loses its grammatical connection to the goal. The formula is always om + [objects/details] + te + [infinitive verb].
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