Breakdown of Zowel de eerste als de tweede mijlpaal is ons dierbaar, hoewel veel tijd is verstreken.
zijn
to be
veel
much / many / a lot of
de tijd
the time
eerste
first (1st)
tweede
second (2nd)
ons
us (object)
als
as (like / conjunction)
hoewel
although
zowel
both (used with 'als')
de mijlpaal
the milestone
verstrijken
to pass (of time)
dierbaar
precious
Questions & Answers about Zowel de eerste als de tweede mijlpaal is ons dierbaar, hoewel veel tijd is verstreken.
Why does the sentence use the singular is instead of the plural zijn after Zowel de eerste als de tweede mijlpaal?
When using zowel ... als ... (both ... and ...) to connect two singular subjects, Dutch grammar allows both the singular and the plural verb. Using zijn (plural) is often preferred, but is (singular) is entirely correct and puts a slightly stronger individual emphasis on each milestone separately.
How does the phrase is ons dierbaar work without a preposition like aan or voor?
The adjective dierbaar (precious/dear) can take an indirect object directly without needing a preposition. Just like you can say dat is mij duidelijk (that is clear to me), you can say het is ons dierbaar (it is precious to us). You could theoretically say dierbaar voor ons, but using just the object pronoun (ons) is more elegant and very common.
Why is the auxiliary verb is used in is verstreken instead of heeft?
The verb verstrijken (to pass/expire, used specifically for time) indicates a process or a change of state. Intransitive verbs of this type always use zijn as their auxiliary verb in the perfect tenses in Dutch, never hebben.
In the subordinate clause, could I change the word order to hoewel veel tijd verstreken is?
Yes, absolutely! Because hoewel (although) introduces a subordinate clause, the verbs are pushed to the end. Since you have an auxiliary verb (is) and a past participle (verstreken), you can use either order at the end of the clause. Both is verstreken and verstreken is are perfectly correct.
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