Breakdown of Ondanks het feit dat de tractor oud is, werkt hij goed.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
oud
old
werken
to work
goed
good
dat
that (conjunction)
het feit
the fact
ondanks
despite
de tractor
the tractor
Questions & Answers about Ondanks het feit dat de tractor oud is, werkt hij goed.
Why do we use "het feit dat" here instead of just "ondanks"?
The word ondanks (despite) is a preposition, which means it normally needs to come before a noun or pronoun, not a full sentence. By adding het feit dat (the fact that), you create a grammatical bridge that allows the preposition to introduce an entire clause (de tractor oud is).
Could I just say "ondanks dat de tractor oud is"?
In spoken, everyday Dutch, you will actually hear people say ondanks dat quite often. However, in formal written Dutch, putting a preposition directly before dat is traditionally considered incorrect or poor style. Using ondanks het feit dat is always grammatically safe and preferred in writing.
Why is the verb "is" at the very end of the first clause?
The word dat introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch subordinate clauses, all verbs are pushed to the end. So instead of the standard word order (de tractor is oud), it becomes de tractor oud is.
Why does the second half of the sentence say "werkt hij" instead of "hij werkt"?
This happens because of the Dutch verb-second rule. The entire first clause (Ondanks het feit dat de tractor oud is) counts as the first "block" of information in the main sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position, werkt must come right after the comma, which forces the subject (hij) to move after the verb.
Why is the tractor referred to as "hij" (he) instead of "het" (it)?
Tractor is a de-word (de tractor). In Dutch, almost all de-words for inanimate objects are treated as masculine and are referred to with the pronoun hij. You only use het for het-words.
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