Breakdown of Dit is het op twee na rijkste werelddeel, zonder economisch te groeien.
zijn
to be
twee
two
op
on
dit
this (neuter)
het
it
groeien
to grow
te
to (infinitive marker)
zonder
without
na
after (preposition)
rijk
rich
het werelddeel
the continent (part of the world)
economisch
economic
Questions & Answers about Dit is het op twee na rijkste werelddeel, zonder economisch te groeien.
How does op twee na rijkste mean "third richest"?
The structure op [number] na literally means "except for [number]". So, het op twee na rijkste translates to "the richest, except for two". If two continents are richer, this one must be the third richest. If you wanted to say "second richest", you would use op één na rijkste.
Why is it rijkste with an -e ending when werelddeel is a het word?
Superlatives like rijkst follow standard adjective ending rules. Because the noun phrase starts with the definite article het, the adjective gets the standard -e ending. You only drop the -e for het words when they are indefinite (using een or no article), but ranked superlatives practically always use a definite article.
How does the zonder ... te structure work in this sentence?
The phrase zonder economisch te groeien uses the zonder ... te + infinitive pattern, which translates to "without [doing something]". In Dutch, the verb (groeien) is placed at the very end of the clause with te right in front of it. Any extra information, like the adverb economisch, gets sandwiched between zonder and te.
Why doesn't economisch get an -e ending here?
In this sentence, economisch functions as an adverb, not an adjective. It modifies the verb groeien (growing economically), rather than describing a noun. In Dutch, adverbs do not take an -e ending.
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