Breakdown of Wij zijn positief ten aanzien van het nieuwe beleid.
zijn
to be
wij
we
nieuw
new
positief
positive
het beleid
the policy (strategy, government, business)
ten aanzien van
with respect to
Questions & Answers about Wij zijn positief ten aanzien van het nieuwe beleid.
How exactly does ten aanzien van function here, and when should I use it?
Ten aanzien van is a formal complex preposition meaning "with regard to," "with respect to," or "concerning." You will mostly encounter it in formal contexts, like business, politics, or official reports. In everyday conversation, you would more likely hear a simpler preposition.
Where does the word ten come from in ten aanzien van?
Ten is a remnant of the old Dutch case system. It is a contraction of the preposition te (at/to) and the old masculine or neuter dative article den. You will see ten (and its feminine counterpart ter) preserved in many formal, fixed expressions like ten opzichte van (compared to) or ten minste (at least).
If I wanted to say this more casually, what preposition could I substitute for ten aanzien van?
In normal, everyday speech, you would probably just say over (about). The casual version of this sentence would simply be Wij zijn positief over het nieuwe beleid (We are positive about the new policy).
Since beleid is a het-word, why does nieuw get an -e ending to become nieuwe?
Adjectives before het-words only drop the -e ending when they are preceded by an indefinite article like een (a) or no article at all, such as in een nieuw beleid. Because this sentence uses the definite article het (the), the adjective gets the standard -e ending to become het nieuwe beleid.
Learn Wij zijn positief ten aanzien van het nieuwe beleid and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free