Breakdown of De zakenlieden zijn rijk. Bovendien hebben ze veel invloed.
zijn
to be
hebben
to have
veel
much / many / a lot of
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
Questions & Answers about De zakenlieden zijn rijk. Bovendien hebben ze veel invloed.
What is the singular form of zakenlieden?
The singular is zakenman (businessman). As taught in this lesson, professions ending in -man often form their plural by changing to -lieden or -lui to refer to a collective group of people.
Is there a difference between zakenlieden and zakenlui?
They mean the exact same thing. Zakenlieden sounds a bit more formal and is common in written text like the news, while zakenlui is slightly more informal and very frequent in everyday spoken Dutch.
Does zakenlieden only refer to men?
Not necessarily. While it stems from zakenman, the suffixes -lieden and -lui are used as collective terms for a mixed group, similar to businesspeople in English. If you want to specify a group of only female professionals, you would use the plural of zakenvrouw, which is simply zakenvrouwen.
Why does the second sentence say Bovendien hebben ze instead of Bovendien ze hebben?
The word Bovendien (moreover) is an adverb. When you place an adverb in the first position of a main clause, it triggers inversion. The verb (hebben) must stay in the strict second position, which pushes the subject (ze) right after it into the third position.