Breakdown of Drie op de tien medewerkers rapporteren een ernstig slaaptekort.
een
a/an
drie
three
tien
ten
de medewerker
the employee
ernstig
severe (serious, grave)
op
in (in ratios, e.g. one in four)
het slaaptekort
the sleep deprivation
rapporteren
to report (formally)
Questions & Answers about Drie op de tien medewerkers rapporteren een ernstig slaaptekort.
Why do we use op de here instead of in de for 'in ten', like we say in English?
In Dutch, when expressing ratios or proportions like 'three in ten' or 'one out of five', we use the preposition op. The standard structure is [number] + op de + [number] + [plural noun]. You can also use van de (e.g., drie van de tien), which literally translates to 'three of the ten'.
What determines whether the verb rapporteren is plural or singular in proportion phrases like this?
The verb agrees with the first number in the ratio. Because the subject starts with Drie (three), which is plural, the verb must be plural (rapporteren). If the sentence were about one in ten employees, the verb would be singular: Eén op de tien medewerkers rapporteert...
As a quick refresher, why doesn't ernstig (severe) get an -e ending here?
This is because slaaptekort is a neuter noun (het tekort). When a neuter, singular noun is preceded by the indefinite article een, the adjective before it does not get the standard -e ending.
How do we know whether slaaptekort is a de or het word?
Slaaptekort is a compound noun made of slaap (sleep) and tekort (shortage or deficit). In Dutch, compound nouns always take the article of their final part. Since it is het tekort, the combined word is het slaaptekort.
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