Breakdown of Wij verstoppen de ballon stiekempjes, zodat hij onopgemerkt blijft.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
wij
we
blijven
to stay
verstoppen
to hide
zodat
so that
stiekempjes
secretly
de ballon
the balloon
onopgemerkt
unnoticed
Questions & Answers about Wij verstoppen de ballon stiekempjes, zodat hij onopgemerkt blijft.
What is the difference between using stiekempjes and just saying stiekem?
Both mean "secretly", but stiekempjes is an adverbial diminutive (the focus of this lesson). By adding -pjes to stiekem, it softens the tone. It makes the action sound a bit more playful, subtle, or innocent, rather than a serious or malicious secret.
Why do we use the pronoun hij (he) for a balloon instead of het (it)?
In Dutch, ballon is a de-word. When referring back to de-words that are objects, Dutch speakers generally use hij (he) or die (that). You only use het (it) to refer back to het-words. English speakers often trip over this because they are used to using "it" for all inanimate objects.
Why does the verb blijft get pushed to the very end of the sentence?
The word zodat (so that) is a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a dependent clause (zodat hij onopgemerkt blijft), which means the conjugated verb (blijft) must be sent to the very end of that clause.
How does the word onopgemerkt get its meaning?
It is built from the separable verb opmerken (to notice). The past participle is opgemerkt (noticed). Adding the prefix on- makes it negative, resulting in onopgemerkt (unnoticed).
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