Breakdown of De winst steeg aanzienlijk in het derde kwartaal.
in
in
derde
third (3rd)
de winst
the profit
stijgen
to rise
aanzienlijk
considerably
het kwartaal
the quarter
Questions & Answers about De winst steeg aanzienlijk in het derde kwartaal.
Why is steeg used here instead of verhoogde?
Steeg is the simple past of stijgen, which means "to rise" or "to increase" (intransitive—the subject does it on its own). Verhogen means "to raise" or "to increase something" (transitive—someone does it to an object). Because the profit is going up on its own in this sentence, you must use stijgen.
Aanzienlijk is a great formal word. What are some other ways to say "considerably" or "significantly" in this context?
In business or financial contexts, you will also frequently see flink (substantially) or beduidend (significantly). All three are excellent B2-level words to describe a large, noticeable change.
The current lesson is about complex prepositions, but this sentence just uses in. How could we use a phrase like met betrekking tot (with regard to) here?
To sound even more like a formal financial report, you could introduce the time frame using a complex preposition: Met betrekking tot het derde kwartaal steeg de winst aanzienlijk. (With regard to the third quarter, the profit rose considerably.) This frames the sentence by placing heavy topical emphasis on the specific quarter being discussed.
Does the word order have to be exactly like this, or can the time phrase move?
You can easily swap the adverb and the time phrase: De winst steeg in het derde kwartaal aanzienlijk. In fact, following the standard "Time-Manner-Place" guideline, putting the time (in het derde kwartaal) before the manner (aanzienlijk) is highly natural. The original sentence leaves the time at the end to give it slightly more emphasis.
Learn De winst steeg aanzienlijk in het derde kwartaal 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