Breakdown of We accepteren het oordeel over een stuk of tien sollicitanten, maar we twijfelen over hen.
een
a/an
maar
but
tien
ten
het stuk
the piece
hen
them (object)
accepteren
to accept
over
about
of
or
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
twijfelen
to doubt / to hesitate
de sollicitant
the applicant
het oordeel
the judgment / the verdict (opinion, general)
Questions & Answers about We accepteren het oordeel over een stuk of tien sollicitanten, maar we twijfelen over hen.
Why do we use over hen instead of the pronominal adverb erover?
This is the core rule of this lesson: animacy! Because sollicitanten (applicants) are humans, you cannot use er + preposition. You must use the preposition followed by a personal pronoun, which gives us over hen (about them). If we were having doubts about inanimate objects, like the applications themselves (sollicitaties), we would be required to use erover.
What exactly does een stuk of tien mean? Doesn't stuk mean "piece"?
While stuk does mean "piece", the phrase een stuk of [number] is a very common Dutch fixed expression that means "about" or "approximately" that number. So een stuk of tien sollicitanten translates to "around ten applicants".
Why is it over hen and not over hun?
In formal Dutch grammar, you must use hen directly after a preposition (like over). The pronoun hun is used as an indirect object when there is no preposition (meaning "to them"). Note that in casual, spoken Dutch, native speakers often mix these up or simply use the unstressed pronoun ze instead.
Why do we use the preposition over with twijfelen here?
When you have doubts about someone, or when you are hesitant about making a choice between things, you use twijfelen over. There is also twijfelen aan, which means to doubt the truth, quality, or validity of something (like ik twijfel aan zijn verhaal - I doubt his story). Here, they are unsure about whether to select these specific applicants, making over the right choice.
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