Breakdown of De licentie zal geen intellectueel eigendom overdragen.
geen
no / not any
zullen
shall / will
het eigendom
the property
de licentie
the license
intellectueel
intellectual
overdragen
to transfer (property, responsibilities)
Questions & Answers about De licentie zal geen intellectueel eigendom overdragen.
Why is it intellectueel eigendom without an -e on the adjective?
Eigendom (property) is mostly treated as a het-word in this context (het intellectueel eigendom). When a het-word is preceded by geen—which follows the exact same grammar rules as een—the adjective drops its -e ending. (Note: in strict legal jargon, it is occasionally treated as a de-word, but the het version is standard here).
Why do we use geen instead of niet to negate this sentence?
Geen is used to negate nouns that don't have a definite article, effectively meaning "no" or "not any". Even though intellectual property is an abstract concept, the sentence translates to "will not transfer any intellectual property", which makes geen the required negation rather than niet.
Overdragen is a separable verb. Why is it written as a single word at the end of the sentence?
Because of the auxiliary verb zal (will). The auxiliary takes the second position in the clause, pushing the main verb (overdragen) to the very end in its full, un-split infinitive form. It would only split if it were the active verb in a main clause without an auxiliary (e.g., De licentie draagt het eigendom over).
Since this lesson covers auxiliary omission, could zal be omitted if this sentence were turned into a relative clause?
No. Auxiliary omission (hulpwerkwoorddeletie) in formal Dutch clauses only applies to the perfect tense auxiliaries hebben and zijn (for example, dropping is in het eigendom dat overgedragen [is]). You cannot omit the future auxiliary zullen (zal).
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