Breakdown of Aangezien hij uit een kansarm gezin komt, steunen we hem.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
een
a/an
komen
to come
uit
out of / from
hem
him
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
steunen
to support
het gezin
the family (parents and children)
aangezien
since / as (because)
kansarm
disadvantaged / underprivileged
Questions & Answers about Aangezien hij uit een kansarm gezin komt, steunen we hem.
How does the suffix -arm work in the word kansarm?
The suffix -arm literally means 'poor,' so kansarm translates to 'opportunity-poor' or 'disadvantaged.' It is a highly productive suffix that can be attached to many nouns to indicate a low amount of something, such as suikerarm (low-sugar) or vetarm (low-fat).
Why is there no -e added to kansarm here?
Gezin is a het word (het gezin). When an adjective modifies a het word and is preceded by the indefinite article een (or no article at all), it does not get the standard -e ending. If we used a de word like familie, it would be een kansarme familie.
Why is the verb komt at the very end of the first clause?
Aangezien (since/seeing that) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause, which always pushes the conjugated verb (komt) to the very end of that clause.
Why does the main clause start with the verb steunen instead of the subject we?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire first clause (Aangezien... komt) acts as the first element of the main sentence. Therefore, the main verb (steunen) must take the second position, which causes it to swap places with the subject (we).
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