Breakdown of De pectine heeft de jam ingedikt.
hebben
to have
de pectine
the pectin
de jam
the jam
indikken
to thicken
Questions & Answers about De pectine heeft de jam ingedikt.
Why does this sentence use heeft instead of is for a verb that describes a change of state?
In this sentence, indikken (to thicken) is used transitively. This means the subject (de pectine) is actively performing the action on a direct object (de jam). When a verb of change is used to say that someone or something caused a change to happen to something else, it always takes hebben.
If I just wanted to say "The jam has thickened" without mentioning the pectin, would I still use heeft?
No, you would use zijn. If the jam thickens on its own, it is an intransitive change of state (there is no direct object receiving the action). You would say: De jam is ingedikt.
Why is the past participle ingedikt and not geïndikt?
Indikken is a separable verb (in + dikken). In the past participle, the ge- prefix goes between the separable prefix and the verb stem, giving you in-ge-dikt. You don't need a trema (the two dots) here because the vowels are separated by consonants and won't be mispronounced.
How is the word jam pronounced in Dutch? Does it sound exactly like English?
It is a loanword from English, but it has developed a distinctly Dutch pronunciation. Most Dutch speakers pronounce it as sjem (rhyming with the English word "them", starting with a soft "sh" or "zh" sound).
Can I use indikken metaphorically, for example if "the plot thickens" in a movie?
No, indikken is strictly used for physical substances like sauces, liquids, and mixtures becoming denser. For a plot thickening, you would use a different phrase, such as de spanning stijgt (the tension rises) or het wordt ingewikkeld (it is getting complicated).
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