Breakdown of Naar wij vernemen, is de baas corrupt.
zijn
to be
wij
we
de baas
the boss
naar
as (according to what someone knows/says)
vernemen
to learn (hear)
corrupt
corrupt
Questions & Answers about Naar wij vernemen, is de baas corrupt.
Why do we use naar here instead of zoals to mean "as"?
In Dutch, naar is used as a specific conjunction to frame how you came to know a piece of information. Fixed expressions like naar wij vernemen, naar ik weet (as far as I know), and naar verluidt (reportedly) use naar rather than zoals. You use zoals more for comparisons or manner, like zoals je weet (as you know).
What does the verb vernemen add to the sentence compared to a simpler verb like horen?
Why does the main clause invert the subject and verb to is de baas?
This is the standard Dutch V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire introductory framing clause Naar wij vernemen occupies the first position in the sentence. Therefore, the finite verb of the main clause (is) must take the second position, forcing the subject (de baas) to come right after it.
Is it acceptable to use the unstressed pronoun we instead of wij in this phrase?
Yes, naar we vernemen is grammatically fine. However, because this evidential construction is relatively formal, it is very often paired with the full pronoun wij, especially in written texts, news reports, or official statements.
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