Breakdown of Naar wij aannemen, is de transactie niet onaantrekkelijk.
zijn
to be
niet
not
wij
we
aannemen
to accept / to take on (hire, assume)
naar
as (according to what someone knows/says)
de transactie
the transaction
onaantrekkelijk
unattractive
Questions & Answers about Naar wij aannemen, is de transactie niet onaantrekkelijk.
How does saying "niet onaantrekkelijk" change the meaning compared to simply saying it is "aantrekkelijk"?
This is a figure of speech called litotes, which uses a double negative to express a strong positive. By saying it is niet onaantrekkelijk, the speaker is actually emphasizing that the transaction is quite attractive, but they are doing so in a cautious, professional, or diplomatic tone.
Doesn't "naar" usually mean "to"? How does "Naar wij aannemen" mean "As we assume"?
At this level, you will start seeing naar used as a formal conjunction meaning "according to what" or "as". It is often used in fixed, formal phrases with verbs of thinking or feeling, such as naar wij aannemen (as we assume) or naar ik hoop (as I hope). In casual speech, you would more likely hear zoals we aannemen.
Why is the verb "is" placed right after the comma before the subject "de transactie"?
This is the standard V2 (verb second) rule in action. The entire dependent clause Naar wij aannemen occupies the first position in the main sentence. Therefore, the main verb is must take the second position immediately after the comma, which pushes the subject de transactie to the third position.
Could I use the unstressed pronoun "we" instead of "wij" here?
You could, but wij fits the formal register of this sentence much better. The use of the conjunction naar and the diplomatic understatement niet onaantrekkelijk both signal a professional context where the stressed wij sounds more appropriate.
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