Breakdown of Het kost veel geld om het erfgoed te herbouwen.
veel
much / many / a lot of
het geld
the money
het
it
kosten
to cost
Questions & Answers about Het kost veel geld om het erfgoed te herbouwen.
How does the prefix her- change the verb bouwen in this sentence, and is it a separable verb?
The prefix her- adds the meaning of repetition, exactly like the English prefix re-. Adding it to bouwen (to build) creates herbouwen (to rebuild). Verbs starting with her- are inseparable, which is why the full verb stays intact as te herbouwen rather than splitting into her te bouwen.
Why is the structure om ... te used here?
The om ... te construction is used to express a purpose or goal, often translating to 'in order to'. It connects the main statement (Het kost veel geld) to the specific action that requires that money (het erfgoed te herbouwen).
Does the word Het at the beginning of the sentence refer to het erfgoed?
No, the first Het acts as a dummy subject. This is identical to how we use 'It' in the English sentence 'It costs a lot of money'. It simply provides a grammatical subject for the verb kost and does not point to the heritage itself.
How is the noun erfgoed constructed?
It is a compound noun made up of erf (a stem related to erven, meaning to inherit) and goed (meaning goods or property). Together, they form the Dutch word for heritage.