Breakdown of Het lawaai is enorm, zij slaan namelijk uitbundig op de trommels.
zijn
to be
zij
they
op
on
slaan
to hit
het lawaai
the noise (loud, unpleasant)
namelijk
you see / namely / because (adverb)
enorm
enormous
uitbundig
exuberant
de trommel
the drum
Questions & Answers about Het lawaai is enorm, zij slaan namelijk uitbundig op de trommels.
How could we rewrite this scenario to use the 'al' + present participle structure from this lesson?
You could combine the ideas by saying: Al slaand op de trommels maken zij een enorm lawaai (While beating the drums, they make an enormous noise). The original sentence uses two separate clauses to explain the situation, but the al + present participle structure is a great way to emphasize that the drum-beating and the noise-making are happening simultaneously.
Why is namelijk translated as 'you see' here, and could we just use want?
Namelijk is an adverb used to give a reason or explanation for the statement that just preceded it. It translates well to 'you see' in this context. You absolutely could use the conjunction want (because/for) instead, but it would replace namelijk rather than sitting in the same spot: ..., want zij slaan uitbundig op de trommels.
Why do we say op de trommels slaan instead of just de trommels slaan?
In Dutch, when you play a percussion instrument or strike a surface to make noise, you use the preposition op. If you were to drop op and just say zij slaan de trommels, it would sound like they are physically attacking or beating up the drums as objects, rather than playing them.
Why does namelijk come exactly where it does in the second clause?
Because the second part of the sentence (zij slaan namelijk...) is an independent main clause, the finite verb slaan must take the second position. Adverbs like namelijk that provide logical connection typically sit right after the verb and subject, but before manner adverbs like uitbundig.
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