Breakdown of Naar wij aannemen, heeft de klokkenluider intern geklaagd.
wij
we
hebben
to have
klagen
to complain
aannemen
to accept / to take on (hire, assume)
Questions & Answers about Naar wij aannemen, heeft de klokkenluider intern geklaagd.
Why use naar here instead of zoals?
While zoals wij aannemen (as we assume) is grammatically fine and means the same thing, using naar as a conjunction is a slightly more formal, fixed way to frame a statement based on personal knowledge or assumption. You will frequently encounter it with cognitive verbs like weten (to know), verwachten (to expect), or aannemen (to assume).
Why does the verb aannemen go at the end of the first clause?
In this specific structure, naar acts as a subordinating conjunction (similar to words like omdat or dat). This means it introduces a subordinate clause, which forces the conjugated verb (aannemen) to the end of that clause, right before the comma.
Why does the main clause start with the verb heeft instead of the subject de klokkenluider?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire evidential clause (Naar wij aannemen) occupies the first position of the overall sentence. To keep the main conjugated verb in the second position, heeft must immediately follow the comma. This causes inversion, pushing the subject (de klokkenluider) after the verb.
What is the literal meaning of klokkenluider?