Breakdown of We hadden de gigabytes al verbruikt.
hebben
to have
al
already
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
de gigabyte
the gigabyte
verbruiken
to consume / to use up (energy, resources)
Questions & Answers about We hadden de gigabytes al verbruikt.
Why use verbruikt here instead of just gebruikt?
Gebruiken means "to use" generally, while verbruiken specifically means "to consume" or "to use up". Since a data allowance is a resource that gets depleted, verbruiken is the correct choice for using up your gigabytes.
If I want to practice this lesson's grammar, how would I turn this into an indirect question starting with in hoeverre?
In hoeverre (to what extent) introduces a subordinate clause, which pushes the verbs to the end. For example: We onderzochten in hoeverre we de gigabytes al hadden verbruikt. Note that at the end of the clause, both hadden verbruikt and verbruikt hadden are perfectly fine.
Could I say We hadden al de gigabytes verbruikt?
You could, but it would change the meaning! If you place al right before de gigabytes, it acts as a quantifier meaning "all the gigabytes". By placing it after the specific object, al functions as an adverb of time meaning "already".
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