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Questions & Answers about De daders eisen het losgeld.
Since this lesson focuses on infinitive clauses, how would we expand this sentence to say 'The perpetrators demand him to pay the ransom'?
While this sentence just uses a simple noun object (het losgeld), eisen is a verb of ordering that frequently takes an infinitive clause. To do this, you introduce the person being ordered with the preposition van, followed by an om ... te clause: De daders eisen van hem om het losgeld te betalen.
What is the root of the word daders?
The singular is dader (perpetrator). It comes from the noun daad (deed or act). It literally means 'the one who does the deed'. You will also see this root in misdadiger (criminal), which comes from misdaad (crime).
How does the compound noun losgeld get the meaning of 'ransom'?
It combines los (loose, free) and geld (money). In this context, los relates to verbs like loslaten (to let go) or vrijlaten (to set free). Therefore, losgeld is the money paid to release someone.
Could we use vragen instead of eisen here?