Breakdown of We moeten ook de handlanger identificeren.
ook
also / -ever (concessive particle)
moeten
to have to, must
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
identificeren
to identify
Questions & Answers about We moeten ook de handlanger identificeren.
If someone asked "Is hij de handlanger?" (Is he the accomplice?), how would you reply "Yes, he is" using the grammar from this lesson?
You would say Ja, hij is het. Even though de handlanger is a de-word, we use the pronoun het here as a predicative resumptive pronoun. It acts as a neutral placeholder that stands in for the entire previously mentioned noun phrase following a verb like zijn (to be).
What is the literal meaning of the word handlanger?
It translates roughly to "hand-reacher" (someone who lends a hand), but in modern Dutch it is almost exclusively used in a negative, criminal context to mean "accomplice," "henchman," or "co-conspirator."
Why is identificeren placed at the very end of this sentence?
This is a standard rule of Dutch word order that is always good to refresh: conjugated modal verbs like moeten take the second position in a main clause, and push the main infinitive verb (identificeren) to the very end of the clause.
How does the placement of ook change the emphasis in this sentence?
Placing ook right before de handlanger implies that the accomplice is an addition to a list of targets (e.g., "We must identify the mastermind, and also the accomplice"). If you instead wanted to emphasize that we must do it too (just like the police), you would put it at the front: Ook wij moeten de handlanger identificeren.