Breakdown of De te delegeren taken hebben geen urgentie.
hebben
to have
geen
no / not any
de taak
the task
te
to (infinitive marker)
Questions & Answers about De te delegeren taken hebben geen urgentie.
How does te delegeren work here to mean "to be delegated"?
This is called an attributive modal infinitive. By putting te plus an infinitive (delegeren) directly before a noun (taken), it acts like an adjective with a passive meaning. It implies that something must or can be done to the noun. You can think of it as "the to-be-delegated tasks".
Why doesn't delegeren get an -e ending, since it acts as an adjective before the plural noun taken?
Normally, adjectives before a plural noun like taken get an -e ending (for example, de nieuwe taken). However, when you use the te + infinitive structure, the verb never takes an extra -e. It always stays in its exact dictionary form.
How would I write this using a normal relative clause instead of the te + infinitive structure?
You would use a passive construction with a modal verb. You could say: De taken die gedelegeerd moeten worden, hebben geen urgentie. (The tasks that must be delegated have no urgency). The te delegeren version is just a shorter, slightly more formal way to express the exact same idea.
Why use geen urgentie instead of niet urgentie?