Breakdown of Dankzij het feit dat we veel mest gebruiken, groeit het gewas goed.
veel
much / many / a lot of
goed
good
gebruiken
to use
groeien
to grow
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
dat
that (conjunction)
het feit
the fact
dankzij
thanks to
de mest
the manure / the fertilizer
het gewas
the crop
Questions & Answers about Dankzij het feit dat we veel mest gebruiken, groeit het gewas goed.
Why do we need het feit here? Can't we just say dankzij dat we veel mest gebruiken?
In Dutch, prepositions like dankzij (thanks to), ondanks (despite), or gezien (given) cannot directly attach to a dat clause. You have to use het feit (the fact) as a grammatical bridge for the preposition to point to.
Why does the main clause start with the verb groeit instead of the subject het gewas?
This is the standard V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire subordinate clause (Dankzij het feit dat we veel mest gebruiken) acts as one big phrase taking up the first position in the sentence. Therefore, the main verb groeit must immediately follow it to take the second position, pushing the subject het gewas after the verb.
Why is the verb gebruiken placed at the very end of the first part of the sentence?
The phrase het feit dat introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb (in this case, gebruiken) is pushed to the very end of that clause, right before the comma.
Could we use door het feit dat instead of dankzij het feit dat in this sentence?
Grammatically yes, but dankzij is much better here. Dankzij (thanks to) is used specifically when the cause leads to a positive result, like the crop growing well. Door (because of or due to) is neutral and often used for negative or purely factual outcomes.
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