Breakdown of Dat accent is lastig te imiteren.
zijn
to be
dat
that (het-words)
te
to (infinitive marker)
lastig
tricky / difficult (troublesome)
imiteren
to imitate
het accent
the accent
Questions & Answers about Dat accent is lastig te imiteren.
How does the grammar of lastig te imiteren work in this sentence?
This is an evaluative property construction. Instead of using a dummy subject like in the sentence Het is lastig om dat accent te imiteren (It is difficult to imitate that accent), Dutch allows you to make the target (dat accent) the main subject. You follow it directly with the adjective (lastig), the word te, and the infinitive verb (imiteren).
What is the difference between using lastig and moeilijk in this sentence?
Both mean difficult and are grammatically correct here. Moeilijk is a neutral word for hard, while lastig adds a slight nuance of being tricky, awkward, or bothersome to get exactly right.
If I wanted to use the separable verb nadoen (to mimic) instead of imiteren, where would te go?
The word te splits the separable verb in this construction. It gets sandwiched between the prefix (na) and the core verb (doen). The sentence would then become: Dat accent is lastig na te doen.
Why does this sentence use dat accent instead of die accent?
Because accent is a neuter noun in Dutch (het accent). Therefore, when you want to say that accent, you must use the neuter demonstrative pronoun dat. You only use die for de-words or plurals.
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