Breakdown of Met betrekking tot het eerste kwartaal is de omzet gedaald.
zijn
to be
eerste
first (1st)
de omzet
the revenue
dalen
to decrease
met betrekking tot
with regard to
het kwartaal
the quarter
Questions & Answers about Met betrekking tot het eerste kwartaal is de omzet gedaald.
How exactly does the formal preposition met betrekking tot function here?
Met betrekking tot is a formal complex preposition meaning "with regard to" or "concerning." It is built from the preposition met (with), the noun betrekking (relation or reference), and the preposition tot (to). It acts as a single unit to frame the topic of the sentence. In less formal contexts, you might also see wat betreft (regarding).
Why is the verb is placed before the subject de omzet?
This happens because of the Dutch V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire complex prepositional phrase Met betrekking tot het eerste kwartaal occupies the first grammatical position in the sentence. The finite verb (is) must take the second position, which forces the subject (de omzet) to invert and come right after the verb.
Why do we use is ... gedaald instead of heeft ... gedaald for "has dropped"?
The verb dalen (to drop, decrease, or fall) describes a change of state. In Dutch, verbs that indicate a change of state or direction without taking a direct object (intransitive verbs) almost always use zijn (to be) rather than hebben (to have) to form the present perfect tense.
Could I use de winst instead of de omzet here?
You could, but it changes the meaning. De omzet specifically means "revenue" or "turnover" (the total money brought in by sales). If you want to talk about "profit" (the money left over after deducting expenses), you must use the word de winst.
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