Breakdown of Doordat de baas zich misrekende, werd het wanbeheer zichtbaar.
de baas
the boss
het
it
worden
to become
doordat
because of the fact that / because (cause)
Questions & Answers about Doordat de baas zich misrekende, werd het wanbeheer zichtbaar.
Both misrekende and wanbeheer use negative prefixes. What is the difference in nuance between mis- and wan- here?
Mis- usually means "wrongly" or "incorrectly," implying an error or mistake. So zich misrekenen means to calculate incorrectly (to miscalculate). Wan-, on the other hand, suggests something is fundamentally bad, chaotic, or deficient. Therefore, wanbeheer isn't just a simple mistake; it implies severely bad or chaotic management (mismanagement or malpractice).
Why is the word zich used before misrekende?
The Dutch verb for "to miscalculate" or "to make a mistake in judgment" is zich misrekenen. It is a reflexive verb, so you literally "miscalculate yourself." Even though we don't use a reflexive pronoun in the English translation, Dutch requires zich here to complete the verb.
Could I use omdat instead of doordat to start this sentence?
You could be understood, but doordat is more precise and natural here. Doordat specifically indicates a direct cause-and-effect relationship (A physically or logically causes B). Omdat is generally used to express a personal reason or motivation (why someone chose to do something). The mismanagement becoming visible was a direct, unintended consequence of the miscalculation, making doordat the perfect choice.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb ?