Breakdown of Als de economie krimpt, wordt de op één na grootste stad arm.
groot
big
één
one
de stad
the city
op
on
worden
to become
als
if / when (condition)
na
after (preposition)
arm
poor
de economie
the economy
krimpen
to shrink
Questions & Answers about Als de economie krimpt, wordt de op één na grootste stad arm.
How does the structure op één na grootste literally work to mean "second largest"?
The phrase op ... na translates roughly to "except for" or "short of". So, de op één na grootste stad literally means "the largest city, except for one". This is the standard Dutch formula for ranked superlatives. If you wanted to say "third largest", you would use the number two: de op twee na grootste stad.
Why does één have accent marks here?
The accent marks indicate that it is the number "one" rather than the indefinite article een (a/an). Because the op ... na structure relies on a cardinal number to rank the superlative, you must use the number één.
Why does the second half of the sentence start with the verb wordt?
This is due to the verb-second (V2) rule. The sentence begins with a subordinate clause (Als de economie krimpt). In Dutch, this entire clause counts as the first position of the main sentence. Therefore, the main verb (wordt) must immediately follow the comma to take the second position, causing an inversion of the subject and verb.
Why does grootste get an -e ending while arm does not?
Because grootste is placed directly in front of the noun it modifies (stad), it acts as an attributive adjective and gets the standard -e ending. Arm is a predicative adjective, meaning it follows a linking verb (wordt) to describe the subject later in the sentence. In Dutch, predicative adjectives never get an -e ending.
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