Breakdown of Jij moet de feedback over het essay duidelijk aan hen uitleggen.
jij
you
moeten
to have to, must
hen
them (object)
uitleggen
to explain
Questions & Answers about Jij moet de feedback over het essay duidelijk aan hen uitleggen.
Why is the pronoun hen used here instead of hun?
In formal written Dutch, the strict rule is to use hen whenever the pronoun comes directly after a preposition. Because it follows the preposition aan (to), hen is the correct choice here.
If I wanted to say this without using the preposition aan, how would the sentence change?
If you drop the preposition aan, the pronoun becomes an indirect object without a preposition. In formal writing, you must then use hun. The sentence would become: Jij moet hun de feedback over het essay duidelijk uitleggen.
Why does the adverb duidelijk appear before aan hen?
This follows standard Dutch word order. Adverbs that describe the manner of an action (how something is done, like duidelijk) typically come before prepositional objects (like aan hen).
Why is the separable verb uitleggen kept together at the end of the sentence?
Normally, the prefix uit might split off from the verb. However, because this sentence uses the modal verb moet (must), the main verb is pushed to the very end of the sentence in its full, unseparated infinitive form.