Breakdown of De set moet om kwart over acht opgebouwd zijn.
zijn
to be
acht
eight
om
at (time)
het kwart
the quarter
over
past, in (time)
moeten
to have to, must
opbouwen
to set up / to build up
de set
the set (collection, film/TV)
Questions & Answers about De set moet om kwart over acht opgebouwd zijn.
Why does this sentence end with zijn instead of worden?
Because it describes a state that needs to be achieved by a certain time (a stative passive). If we used worden (De set moet om kwart over acht opgebouwd worden), it would mean the actual physical work of building the set has to start or happen at exactly a quarter past eight, rather than already being finished by then.
How is the past participle opgebouwd formed?
It comes from the separable verb opbouwen (to build up or set up). When making a past participle for a separable verb, the -ge- goes right between the prefix (op-) and the verb stem (bouwd). Because the root verb bouwen does not end in a consonant from 't kofschip, it gets a -d at the end.
Could I reverse the order of the verbs at the end and say zijn opgebouwd?
Yes, you absolutely can! In a Dutch verb pile at the end of a sentence, the auxiliary verb (zijn) and the past participle (opgebouwd) can go in either order. Both opgebouwd zijn and zijn opgebouwd are completely natural and grammatically correct.
Why is the time expression placed right after moet?
In Dutch, time expressions like om kwart over acht usually come as early as possible in the middle of the sentence. They typically follow right after the subject and the conjugated verb (here, De set moet), pushing the rest of the verbs to the very end of the sentence.
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