Word
Hij zou het oogcontact vermijden om zijn intentie te verbergen.
Meaning
He was said to avoid eye contact to hide his intention.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Hij zou het oogcontact vermijden om zijn intentie te verbergen.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
zijn
his
het
it
zullen
shall / will
Questions & Answers about Hij zou het oogcontact vermijden om zijn intentie te verbergen.
Why does zou ... vermijden translate to "was said to avoid" instead of "would avoid"?
At more advanced levels, you'll often see zouden used to express hearsay, an allegation, or an unverified claim, especially in news reports or formal writing. While it can mean "would" in a conditional sense, translating it as "was said to" or "allegedly did" captures the hearsay meaning intended here.
Why is the definite article used in het oogcontact? English just says "eye contact".
Dutch frequently uses definite articles (de or het) before abstract nouns or general concepts where English leaves them out. You could absolutely drop it and just say oogcontact vermijden here, but adding het makes it slightly more specific, pointing to the eye contact expected in that particular situation.
Could I use bedoeling instead of intentie here?
Yes, absolutely! Intentie and bedoeling both mean "intention". Intentie sounds a bit more formal and fits well with the journalistic tone of using zou for hearsay, whereas bedoeling is the standard go-to word in everyday speech.
How does the word order work in the om ... te phrase?