Breakdown of Het wangedrag was onacceptabel, evenwel greep niemand in.
zijn
to be
het
it
niemand
no one
onacceptabel
unacceptable
ingrijpen
to intervene
evenwel
however
het wangedrag
the misconduct
Questions & Answers about Het wangedrag was onacceptabel, evenwel greep niemand in.
How does the prefix wan- change the meaning of gedrag in this sentence?
The prefix wan- implies that something is bad, wrong, or deficient. When added to gedrag (behavior), it creates wangedrag, meaning misconduct or bad behavior. It is similar to the English prefixes mis- or mal-.
Is evenwel commonly used in spoken Dutch?
evenwel is a formal word for nevertheless or however, and you will mostly encounter it in written text or formal news. In everyday conversations, you are much more likely to hear toch or echter.
Why is the verb greep placed before the subject niemand?
The word evenwel acts as an adverb occupying the first position in the second clause. Following the strict Dutch verb-second (V2) rule, the conjugated verb greep must take the second position, which inverts the order and pushes the subject niemand to the third position.
Where does the word in at the end of the sentence come from?
It is the prefix of the separable verb ingrijpen (to intervene). In a main clause, the verb splits: the conjugated part (greep, which is the irregular past tense) takes the second position, while the prefix (in) gets kicked to the very end of the clause.
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