Breakdown of Dan zal zij die enge legende ongetwijfeld vertellen.
zij
she
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
dan
then
zullen
shall / will
vertellen
to tell
eng
scary / creepy
ongetwijfeld
undoubtedly
de legende
the legend
Questions & Answers about Dan zal zij die enge legende ongetwijfeld vertellen.
Why does ongetwijfeld come after die enge legende?
This relates to the word order of sentence-level adverbs of evaluation (like ongetwijfeld, helaas, or gelukkig). Because the direct object die enge legende is a specific, definite thing (indicated by die), it is placed before the adverb. If she were telling an indefinite or non-specific story, the object would typically go after the adverb: Dan zal zij ongetwijfeld een enge legende vertellen.
Why is the word order zal zij and not zij zal?
Because the sentence starts with the adverb dan (then). Whenever you start a main clause with something other than the subject, Dutch uses inversion. The finite verb (zal) must stay in the second position, forcing the subject (zij) to move right behind it.
Why does eng get an -e at the end here?
Legende is a de-word. When an adjective comes before a noun and is preceded by a definite pointing word like de, deze, or die, the adjective almost always takes an -e ending. Therefore, eng becomes enge.
Is ongetwijfeld related to the verb twijfelen (to doubt)?
Yes! It is constructed from the negative prefix on- and the past participle of twijfelen. Literally, it means 'undoubted', which we translate as 'undoubtedly' or 'without a doubt'.
Learn Dan zal zij die enge legende ongetwijfeld vertellen and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free