Breakdown of De enige erfgenaam erft al het geld van de vader.
het geld
the money
de vader
the father
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
enig
only
al
all (the)
erven
to inherit
de erfgenaam
the heir
Questions & Answers about De enige erfgenaam erft al het geld van de vader.
Why do we say al het geld instead of alle geld?
Because geld is an uncountable het-word. When you want to say "all the" with a singular het-word, you must use al het. You use alle for plural nouns (like alle kinderen) or before de-words without an article. While the current lesson focuses on universal pronouns like al wat (whatever), here al simply acts as a quantifier meaning "all of".
The noun is erfgenaam and the verb is erft. Is the infinitive of the verb erfen?
No, the infinitive is erven (to inherit). Because of Dutch spelling rules, a v changes to an f when it ends a syllable or comes before a voiceless consonant like t. This is why the singular conjugation is hij erft and the noun root is erf.
Doesn't enige usually mean "some" or "a few"?
It can mean both! Enige means "some" or "a few" when used as an indefinite pronoun (for example, enige tijd means "some time"). However, when it follows a definite article like de or het, it almost always translates to "the only", as it does here in de enige erfgenaam.
Does van de vader mean the money comes "from" the father, or that it is the money "of" the father?
It can mean both simultaneously. The preposition van translates to both "from" (indicating the source of the inheritance) and "of" (indicating possession, as in the father's money). In this context, both interpretations describe the exact same situation.
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