Breakdown of Omdat de manager zich misrekende, groeide het wantrouwen.
het
it
groeien
to grow
omdat
because (subordinating)
de manager
the manager
Questions & Answers about Omdat de manager zich misrekende, groeide het wantrouwen.
What exactly does the prefix mis- do to the verb rekenen in zich misrekende?
Just like the English prefix "mis-", the Dutch mis- indicates that an action was done wrongly or badly. Here, it changes rekenen (to calculate or reckon) into misrekenen (to miscalculate). A crucial detail at this level: while rekenen is a standard verb, adding mis- to mean "making an error in judgment" turns it into a reflexive verb.
Why is the reflexive pronoun zich required here?
Because the verb is zich misrekenen. In Dutch, when you make a mistake in your expectations or calculations, you literally miscalculate yourself. Without the reflexive pronoun zich, the sentence would sound grammatically incomplete to a native speaker.
How does the prefix wan- create the meaning of wantrouwen?
The prefix wan- indicates something bad, false, or deficient, similar to "mal-" or "dys-" in English. When attached to the root word for trust (trouw or vertrouwen), it creates wantrouwen, meaning a deficiency of trust, or "distrust".
Why does the main clause start with the verb groeide instead of the subject het wantrouwen?