Breakdown of Die vriendschap dreigt helaas te verdwijnen.
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
verdwijnen
to disappear
te
to (infinitive marker)
helaas
unfortunately
de vriendschap
the friendship
dreigen te
to threaten to / to be at risk of
Questions & Answers about Die vriendschap dreigt helaas te verdwijnen.
Why do we use die instead of dat before vriendschap?
The suffix -schap almost always creates de words (common gender nouns). Because vriendschap is a de word, you must use die for "that" rather than dat.
How does the suffix -schap change the meaning of vriend in this sentence?
Adding -schap to a noun often creates an abstract noun referring to a state, condition, or relationship. Here, it turns vriend (friend) into the concept or relationship of being friends: vriendschap (friendship).
Why do we need the word te before verdwijnen?
The verb dreigen (to threaten or to be in danger of) belongs to a specific group of verbs that require te before the infinitive of the second verb. It behaves just like lijken te (to seem to) or hoeven te (to need to).
Could I place helaas at the very beginning of the sentence?
Yes, but it would trigger inversion. If you start the sentence with the adverb helaas, the finite verb must immediately follow it to stay in the second position: Helaas dreigt die vriendschap te verdwijnen.
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