Breakdown of Afgezien van de woonkamer is het huis schoon genoeg voor de eindinspectie.
zijn
to be
het huis
the house
voor
for (on behalf of)
schoon
clean
Questions & Answers about Afgezien van de woonkamer is het huis schoon genoeg voor de eindinspectie.
How does afgezien van work here, and can I just use behalve instead?
Afgezien van translates to 'apart from' or 'aside from', and is used to set aside an exception before making your main point. While behalve (except) is similar in meaning, afgezien van is a bit more formal and is specifically used to bracket off a topic, essentially meaning 'if we do not consider the living room, then the rest is true'.
Why is the verb is placed before the subject het huis?
Because the phrase afgezien van de woonkamer occupies the first position in the sentence. Dutch strictly follows the V2 rule (verb second) in main clauses. The verb is must come immediately after this entire introductory phrase, causing an inversion that pushes the subject het huis to the third position.
Is genoeg always placed after the adjective like in schoon genoeg?
Yes, exactly like in English, genoeg (enough) comes directly after the adjective it modifies. You must say schoon genoeg (clean enough), never genoeg schoon. However, as a quick refresher, remember that when genoeg is used with a noun, it usually comes before the noun, such as in genoeg tijd (enough time).
How do I know whether to use de or het for the word eindinspectie?