Breakdown of Veel mensen ontvluchten de vervallen wijk.
veel
much / many / a lot of
de mens
the human / the person
de wijk
the neighborhood (district)
vervallen
decayed
Questions & Answers about Veel mensen ontvluchten de vervallen wijk.
How does the prefix ont- change the meaning of vluchten here?
The base verb vluchten means "to flee" or "to escape." Adding ont- often indicates separation, deprivation, or moving away from something. It also changes the grammar: while vluchten is usually followed by a preposition (like uit or voor), ontvluchten takes a direct object. So, instead of saying vluchten uit de wijk (flee from the neighborhood), you can simply say de wijk ontvluchten (flee the neighborhood).
Why doesn't vervallen get an -e ending, since it comes after the definite article de?
Vervallen is a past participle being used as an adjective ("decayed"). In Dutch, adjectives that already end in -en do not get an extra -e ending. This rule applies to strong past participles as well as adjectives made of materials (like houten). Even though the noun takes de, it stays de vervallen wijk rather than getting a clunky double ending.
Is ontvluchten a separable verb?
No, it is inseparable. Verbs starting with the prefix ont- are never separable. Because it already has this unstressed prefix, it also does not get the standard ge- prefix in the present perfect tense. If you wanted to say "they have fled the neighborhood," it would be zij hebben de wijk ontvlucht.
Does vervallen only mean "decayed" in Dutch?