Breakdown of De commissie wilde vandaag een motie indienen.
een
a/an
vandaag
today
willen
to want
indienen
to submit
de commissie
the committee
de motie
the motion
Questions & Answers about De commissie wilde vandaag een motie indienen.
Is een motie indienen an example of a function verb structure (nomen-werkwoordverbinding)?
Yes! In formal or political Dutch, you don't just "make" or "do" a motion; you must "hand it in" (indienen). This is a fixed formal noun-verb combination where the noun (een motie) carries the core meaning, and the specific "light" verb (indienen) acts as its required partner.
What other abstract nouns commonly pair with indienen as a function verb?
Because indienen means "to submit" or "to file," it is the standard partner verb for official documents and formal procedures. Other very common examples you will see at this level are een klacht indienen (to file a complaint), een verzoek indienen (to submit a request), and een wetsvoorstel indienen (to introduce a bill).
Indienen is a separable verb (in + dienen). Why isn't it split up in this sentence?
It stays together because of the modal verb wilde (wanted). The modal verb takes the conjugated second position in the sentence, pushing the main action (indienen) to the very end as a full infinitive. When a separable verb is an infinitive at the end of a clause, its prefix and base verb remain glued together. If you removed the modal verb, it would split: De commissie diende vandaag een motie in.
Could I change the word order and say: De commissie wilde een motie vandaag indienen?
No, that would sound unnatural. Dutch follows a strict "Time-Manner-Place" priority, meaning time words like vandaag prefer to sit as early as possible in the middle of the sentence. Time almost always comes before an indefinite direct object like een motie.
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