Breakdown of In plaats van dat hij stopt, fietst hij verder met het zweet op de rug.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
met
with
op
on
fietsen
to cycle
stoppen
to stop
verder
further
de rug
the back
in plaats van dat
instead of (conjunction)
het zweet
the sweat
Questions & Answers about In plaats van dat hij stopt, fietst hij verder met het zweet op de rug.
Why does the sentence say met het zweet op de rug instead of met zweet op zijn rug?
This is an absolute met-construction, which is used to describe the circumstances accompanying the main action (met + noun + prepositional phrase). Notice two Dutch quirks here: First, Dutch often uses the definite article het before substances in these phrases, where English would just say "with sweat". Second, Dutch prefers using definite articles (de rug) rather than possessive pronouns (zijn rug) for body parts when it is already obvious whose body it is.
English says "Instead of stopping". Why does Dutch use dat in In plaats van dat hij stopt?
English uses "instead of" followed by an -ing verb (a gerund). Dutch doesn't use verbs this way. To translate this structure, you have two options in Dutch: use a subordinate clause introduced by in plaats van dat (as seen here, literally "instead of that he stops"), or use in plaats van te followed by the infinitive (In plaats van te stoppen).
Why does the main clause start with the verb (fietst hij instead of hij fietst)?
This is due to the Dutch Verb-Second (V2) rule. The entire subordinate clause at the beginning of the sentence (In plaats van dat hij stopt) occupies the first position. Therefore, the main verb (fietst) must take the second position, forcing the subject (hij) to come immediately after it.
How does the word verder function in this sentence?
It is the prefix of the separable verb verderfietsen (to cycle on / to continue cycling). Because it is the conjugated verb in a main clause, the verb splits: fietst goes to the second position, and the prefix verder is pushed toward the end of the clause, sitting right before the descriptive met-phrase.
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