Breakdown of Zal de inkt snel vervagen in deze kleine tatoeage?
klein
small
in
in
snel
fast
deze
this / these
zullen
shall / will
vervagen
to blur
de tatoeage
the tattoo
de inkt
the ink
Questions & Answers about Zal de inkt snel vervagen in deze kleine tatoeage?
Why does in deze kleine tatoeage come after the verb vervagen? Shouldn't the infinitive go at the very end of the sentence?
Generally, yes! In a sentence with an auxiliary verb like zal, the infinitive (vervagen) usually goes at the end. However, prepositional phrases (phrases starting with words like in, naar, or op) can optionally be placed after the final verb. Much like the right dislocation you are learning about, this extraposition shifts heavy or extra information to the very end of the sentence so the middle doesn't get too cluttered. Saying Zal de inkt in deze kleine tatoeage snel vervagen? is also perfectly correct.
Does the verb vervagen only apply to ink?
No, it is a very versatile word! It is formed from the prefix ver- (which often indicates a change of state) and the adjective vaag (vague, blurry, or faint). You can use vervagen for colors fading in the sun, boundaries blurring between two concepts, or even memories fading away over time (mijn herinneringen vervagen).
How do I know that tatoeage takes deze and the -e ending on kleine?
The word tatoeage is a de-word. A helpful rule of thumb to remember: almost all nouns ending in -age (which are usually borrowed from French) are de-words. Other common examples include de bagage, de etalage, and de massage. Because it is a de-word, we must use deze for 'this', and the adjective klein gets the standard -e ending to become kleine.
Could I use gaan instead of zullen to ask this question?
Yes, you could say Gaat de inkt snel vervagen? Both zullen and gaan are used for the future tense in Dutch. Zullen is often preferred for predictions, hypotheses, or asking for an expert assessment (like wondering how a tattoo will age), whereas gaan can imply a more concrete, planned action or something you can already see happening. In everyday speech, however, they are largely interchangeable for a question like this.
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