Word
Er wordt vastgesteld dat één op de tien mensen slaappillen gebruikt.
Meaning
It is determined that one in ten people uses sleeping pills.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Er wordt vastgesteld dat één op de tien mensen slaappillen gebruikt.
één
one
tien
ten
de mens
the human / the person
gebruiken
to use
Questions & Answers about Er wordt vastgesteld dat één op de tien mensen slaappillen gebruikt.
Why do we use op de here instead of translating "in ten" directly as in de tien?
In Dutch, statistical ratios like "one in ten" are expressed using the prepositions op de or van de, followed by a plural noun. So "one in ten people" becomes één op de tien mensen. Translating the English "in" directly would sound unnatural. Both op de and van de are perfectly fine to use and mean exactly the same thing in this context.
The subject includes the plural tien mensen, so why is the verb gebruikt in the singular form?
Grammatically, the core subject of the phrase is één (one), which is singular. Therefore, the verb gebruikt takes the singular form to match it. While you might sometimes hear native speakers use the plural (gebruiken) in casual speech because their ear expects it after the plural noun mensen, the singular form is considered the correct written standard for één op de....
Why does the sentence start with Er wordt vastgesteld instead of Het wordt vastgesteld?
When a passive sentence states a general fact and lacks a specific, concrete subject, Dutch uses er as a "dummy" subject. You only use het in a passive construction if it refers back to a specific "it" mentioned earlier (e.g., a specific rule or problem). Because this sentence just impersonally states "It is determined that...", er is required.