Breakdown of De nalatenschap komt toe aan de rechtmatige begunstigde van het testament.
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
het testament
the will / the testament
toekomen aan
to belong to / accrue to
de nalatenschap
the estate / the inheritance
rechtmatig
rightful / lawful (according to justice or rights)
de begunstigde
the beneficiary
Questions & Answers about De nalatenschap komt toe aan de rechtmatige begunstigde van het testament.
How is the word nalatenschap formed?
It comes from the separable verb nalaten, which means "to leave behind" (na + laten). The suffix -schap is equivalent to the English "-ship" (as in friendship) and is used to create abstract nouns. So, a nalatenschap is literally "that which is left behind" — an inheritance or estate.
What is the infinitive of the verb used for "falls to" here?
The verb is toekomen aan (to belong to, accrue to, or fall to). It is a separable verb (toe + komen). In this main clause, the verb splits, putting the finite verb komt in the second position and the prefix toe later, directly followed by the fixed preposition aan.
Why does the noun begunstigde (beneficiary) look like it has an adjective ending?
It is a substantivized past participle. It comes from the verb begunstigen (to favor or benefit). By taking the past participle begunstigd and adding an -e, it turns into a noun meaning "the favored one" or "the beneficiary." This is a very common way to create nouns for people in Dutch.
Since this lesson covers al wie, how would I adapt this sentence to say "The estate falls to whoever is in the will"?
You can replace the specific noun phrase with an al wie subclause. It would become: De nalatenschap komt toe aan al wie in het testament staat. Because al wie (whoever) introduces a subclause, the verb inside that clause (staat) gets pushed to the very end of the sentence.
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