Breakdown of Noch de directeur noch de manager ontkende het wanbeheer.
het
it
ontkennen
to deny
de manager
the manager
de directeur
the director (of a company or school)
noch
neither / nor
het wanbeheer
the mismanagement
Questions & Answers about Noch de directeur noch de manager ontkende het wanbeheer.
How does the prefix wan- change the meaning of beheer in this sentence?
The prefix wan- indicates that something is bad, wrong, or severely lacking. Since beheer means management or administration, adding wan- creates wanbeheer, meaning mismanagement or maladministration.
Could I use the prefix mis- here and say misbeheer instead?
No, wanbeheer is a fixed term. While both mis- and wan- express that something is wrong or bad, wan- is often used for a severe lack of quality, order, or morality, especially in institutional or official contexts (like wanbeleid for bad policy, or wanorde for chaos). Mis- usually points to a mistake, an error, or an action gone wrong (like misverstand for misunderstanding).
How do you use the noch ... noch ... structure?
Why is the verb ontkende in the singular form when both the director and the manager are mentioned?
When you connect two singular subjects with noch ... noch ..., the verb usually remains singular in Dutch, just as it often does in English. The sentence treats each subject as acting (or in this case, not acting) individually. If one or both of the subjects were plural, the verb would become plural.
Learn Noch de directeur noch de manager ontkende het wanbeheer 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