Learn Dutch: Gezien het feit dat de bodem vruchtbaar is, is de landbouw hier belangrijk. - Given the fact that the soil is fertile, agriculture is important here.

Gezien het feit dat de bodem vruchtbaar is, is de landbouw hier belangrijk.

Given the fact that the soil is fertile, agriculture is important here.

Breakdown of Gezien het feit dat de bodem vruchtbaar is, is de landbouw hier belangrijk.

Questions & Answers about Gezien het feit dat de bodem vruchtbaar is, is de landbouw hier belangrijk.

Why do we need the phrase het feit dat here instead of just saying Gezien de bodem vruchtbaar is?

Gezien functions as a preposition here (meaning "given" or "in view of"). Prepositions in Dutch cannot directly introduce a full clause with a subject and a conjugated verb. To connect the preposition gezien to the clause de bodem vruchtbaar is, you must use het feit dat (the fact that) as a grammatical bridge.

Why are there two is verbs right next to each other at the comma?

This happens because of two intersecting word order rules. The first is sits at the end of the subordinate clause because dat pushes conjugated verbs to the end. The second is starts the main clause because the entire first half of the sentence acts as "position one". To maintain the strict Dutch "verb-second" rule, the main clause verb (is) must come right after the comma, before the subject de landbouw.

Is gezien related to the verb zien (to see)?

Yes, gezien is the past participle of zien. In this context, it has evolved into a preposition meaning "given" or "considering". You can think of gezien het feit dat as literally meaning "seeing the fact that".

Could I just use aangezien or omdat instead of gezien het feit dat?