Breakdown of Dit is een donkere hoek om het spook in te verstoppen.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
in
in
dit
this (neuter)
de hoek
the corner
donker
dark
verstoppen
to hide
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
het spook
the ghost
Questions & Answers about Dit is een donkere hoek om het spook in te verstoppen.
How does the structure om ... in te verstoppen work to mean "to hide ... in"?
This is an attributive prepositional infinitive. Om introduces the clause, and the preposition in refers back to the noun before it (een donkere hoek). In Dutch, this preposition gets separated and "stranded" right before the te + infinitive, rather than sitting directly next to the noun.
Why is het spook placed where it is?
In an om ... te clause, the direct object (het spook) goes inside the "bracket" between om and the verbs at the end. The stranded preposition in has to stay right next to te verstoppen, so the object must come before it.
Is in a separable prefix for the verb verstoppen here?
No, verstoppen is just the regular verb for "to hide" (there is no verb inverstoppen). The in is a stranded preposition that translates to "in [the corner]". Because of the sentence structure, it ends up parked right next to te verstoppen, which can make it look exactly like a separable prefix.
Why does donker get an -e ending even though it follows een?
Hoek is a de-word (de hoek). Adjectives only drop the -e after the indefinite article een if the noun is a het-word. Since hoek takes de, the adjective keeps its ending, becoming donkere.
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