Word
De astronoom die het zonnestelsel bestudeert, raadpleegde de database.
Meaning
The astronomer who studies the solar system consulted the database.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of De astronoom die het zonnestelsel bestudeert, raadpleegde de database.
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
de database
the database
raadplegen
to consult (seek advice or information)
bestuderen
to study (examine closely)
Questions & Answers about De astronoom die het zonnestelsel bestudeert, raadpleegde de database.
Why is the past tense of raadplegen written as one word (raadpleegde) instead of separating like a split verb (pleegde raad)?
Raadplegen (to consult) is an inseparable back-formation. It was formed backwards from the noun raadpleging (consultation) rather than by gluing together the noun raad and the verb plegen. Because it's not a true compound verb, it doesn't separate. The past tense is simply raadpleegde, and its past participle is geraadpleegd (never raadgepleegd).
The verb plegen is normally a strong verb. Why does raadplegen get the regular weak ending -de here?
This is a key feature of back-formations! Even if they end in a verb that is normally strong, verbs created through back-formation almost always behave as weak (regular) verbs. Therefore, it takes the standard -de past tense ending to become raadpleegde, rather than using a strong past tense form.
Could I use studeert instead of bestudeert for studying the solar system?
No, you need bestuderen here. In Dutch, studeren is generally intransitive and refers to the general act of being a student or doing a degree (like studying at university). Bestuderen is transitive, meaning it requires a direct object, and is used when you closely examine, analyze, or investigate a specific thing, like het zonnestelsel.