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Opgepompt heeft hij de band nog steeds niet.

Opgepompt heeft hij de band nog steeds niet.
He still hasn't pumped up the tire.
From Lesson 411:Fronting verbs for focus·Dutch

Questions & Answers about Opgepompt heeft hij de band nog steeds niet.

Why is Opgepompt at the very beginning of this sentence?
This is an example of fronting a past participle for contrastive focus. Normally, the sentence would be Hij heeft de band nog steeds niet opgepompt. By putting Opgepompt in the first position, the speaker heavily emphasizes the action of pumping, usually to contrast it with something else he did do (e.g., he checked the brakes, but pumped up the tire, he still hasn't).
Why does the verb heeft come right after Opgepompt instead of after the subject hij?
Because Dutch uses the verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses. Since the fronted past participle Opgepompt takes up the first position, the conjugated verb heeft must be in the second position. This pushes the subject hij into the third position, a process known as inversion.
How is the word opgepompt formed?
It is the past participle of the separable verb oppompen (to pump up). For separable verbs, the standard past participle prefix ge- is squeezed between the separable prefix (op-) and the verb stem (pompt), resulting in opgepompt.
Why is niet sitting at the very end of the sentence?
In a standard sentence, the past participle opgepompt would be at the very end, right after niet. Because opgepompt was moved to the front of the sentence for emphasis, niet is left behind as the final word. It also naturally follows the specific direct object (de band) and the time expression (nog steeds).

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