Breakdown of We bouwen koloniën zodat we overleven.
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
bouwen
to build
zodat
so that
overleven
to survive
Questions & Answers about We bouwen koloniën zodat we overleven.
Why does koloniën only get an -n with a trema, instead of adding -ën like the word ideeën?
For words ending in -ie, the plural spelling depends on where the stress falls. If the stress is on the final syllable (like kopie), you add -eën to make kopieën. If the stress is on an earlier syllable (like ko-LO-nie), you just add an -n and put a trema on the existing e (koloniën) to show it is pronounced as a separate syllable.
Is kolonies also a correct plural form?
Yes, absolutely! Many Dutch nouns ending in an unstressed -ie have two accepted plural forms: one with -s (kolonies) and one with -n (koloniën). In everyday spoken Dutch, kolonies is actually more common, whereas koloniën sounds a bit more formal.
Why is the verb overleven pushed to the very end of the sentence?
The word zodat (so that) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause and kicks the conjugated verb to the end of that clause. If there were extra details in this part of the sentence, they would come before the verb, for example: ... zodat we in de ruimte overleven (... so that we survive in space).
Is overleven a separable verb? Why didn't it split?