Word
De woordvoerder verklaarde niets met betrekking tot het onderzoek.
Meaning
The spokesperson declared nothing with regard to the investigation.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of De woordvoerder verklaarde niets met betrekking tot het onderzoek.
niets
nothing
de woordvoerder
the spokesperson
het onderzoek
the research / the investigation
verklaren
to declare (state officially / explain)
Questions & Answers about De woordvoerder verklaarde niets met betrekking tot het onderzoek.
Is met betrekking tot a fixed phrase, and why does it end with tot?
Yes, met betrekking tot is a fixed formal prepositional phrase meaning "with regard to" or "concerning." You cannot swap out the prepositions; it always starts with met and links to the following noun using tot.
This sentence sounds very formal. How would I express "with regard to" in an everyday conversation?
In casual speech, you would simply use over (about) instead of the complex preposition. You would say, "De woordvoerder verklaarde niets over het onderzoek." Phrases like met betrekking tot (often abbreviated as m.b.t.) are mostly reserved for official statements, news broadcasts, and formal writing.
Why is niets placed before the long phrase met betrekking tot het onderzoek?
Niets acts as the direct object here. In Dutch, short pronouns like niets usually precede prepositional phrases that add extra details. Because met betrekking tot het onderzoek is a heavy, descriptive phrase, it naturally gets pushed to the end of the sentence.
How is the word woordvoerder constructed?
It is a compound of woord (word) and voerder (someone who conducts or carries out, from the verb voeren). Literally meaning a "word-conductor," it is the standard Dutch term for a spokesperson.