Word
De producten zijn beschadigd door de warmte.
Meaning
The products have been damaged by the warmth.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of De producten zijn beschadigd door de warmte.
zijn
to be
het product
the product
door
by (agent in a passive sentence)
beschadigen
to damage
Questions & Answers about De producten zijn beschadigd door de warmte.
How does the suffix -te work in the word warmte?
The suffix -te is used to turn adjectives into nouns that describe a physical property, dimension, or feeling. Here, the adjective warm (warm) becomes the noun warmte (warmth or heat). Other common examples you have seen are lengte (length, from lang) and grootte (size, from groot). All of these derived nouns are de-words.
Could I use de hitte instead of de warmte in this sentence?
Yes, and it might be more accurate if the temperature was extreme. Warmte is the general term for warmth or heat, often carrying a moderate or pleasant connotation. Hitte specifically means intense, extreme heat. If the products melted in a boiling hot truck, door de hitte would be very natural.
Why does this sentence use zijn beschadigd instead of hebben beschadigd or worden beschadigd?
This is the present perfect tense of the passive voice. The action is done to the products. If they were being damaged right now, you would use worden (De producten worden beschadigd). Because the damage is completed (they 'have been' damaged), Dutch passive voice drops worden and just uses the auxiliary verb zijn with the past participle.
Why use the preposition door here?