Breakdown of Wij weigeren de tekst objectief voor hen te beoordelen.
wij
we
hen
them (object)
voor
for (on behalf of)
de tekst
the text
te
to (infinitive marker)
weigeren
to refuse
beoordelen
to evaluate / to judge
objectief
objective
Questions & Answers about Wij weigeren de tekst objectief voor hen te beoordelen.
Why do we use hen instead of hun in this sentence?
According to the formal written rules you are learning in this lesson, hen is used for direct objects and always after a preposition. Since the pronoun follows the preposition voor, it must be hen.
Would it be wrong to say voor ze instead of voor hen?
Not at all! In everyday spoken Dutch and informal writing, ze is actually much more common and natural than hen or hun. The strict distinction between hen and hun is a formal rule primarily used in written Dutch.
Why are weigeren and te beoordelen separated by the rest of the sentence?
The conjugated verb weigeren (to refuse) takes the normal second position in the main clause. The action being refused is expressed with a te + infinitive construction (te beoordelen). In Dutch, infinitives are pushed to the very end of the clause, forming a 'bracket' around the other details like the object and the prepositional phrase.
Is it possible to place the prepositional phrase voor hen after the verb, at the very end of the sentence?
Yes, you could say Wij weigeren de tekst objectief te beoordelen voor hen. Prepositional phrases can often be placed after the final verbs in what is called the extraposition. However, placing it before the final verb, as shown in the original sentence, is the standard and most neutral word order.
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