Word
Het is twijfelachtig of de trein vandaag vertrekt.
Meaning
It is doubtful whether the train leaves today.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Het is twijfelachtig of de trein vandaag vertrekt.
zijn
to be
vandaag
today
de trein
the train
het
it
Questions & Answers about Het is twijfelachtig of de trein vandaag vertrekt.
How does the suffix -achtig change the meaning of twijfel in this sentence?
The suffix -achtig is added to the noun twijfel (doubt). While -achtig often means "similar to" or "-ish" (like roodachtig for reddish), it can also mean "having the quality of" or "characterized by". Here, it turns the noun "doubt" into the adjective twijfelachtig (doubtful or questionable).
Could I use als instead of of here to mean "if the train leaves"?
No, you must use of. When expressing a yes/no uncertainty or a choice, English often uses "if" (as in "doubtful if the train leaves"), but Dutch strictly requires of (whether). You only use als for conditional situations, like "If it rains, I will stay home."
Why is the verb vertrekt placed at the very end of the sentence?
The word of acts as a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a subordinate clause (of de trein vandaag vertrekt), which automatically pushes the conjugated verb (vertrekt) to the very end of that clause.
Why does this sentence use the present tense vertrekt (leaves) instead of a future tense, since it's talking about later today?