Breakdown of Ik heb moeite met dit obstakel.
het obstakel
the obstacle
moeite hebben met
to have trouble with
Questions & Answers about Ik heb moeite met dit obstakel.
Why do we use dit instead of deze before obstakel?
Because obstakel is a het-word (het obstakel). In Dutch, you must use dit (this) and dat (that) with singular het-words. If it were a de-word, you would use deze (this) or die (that).
Does the phrase moeite hebben met mean exactly the same as 'having trouble with'?
Can obstakel be used for both physical and abstract problems, just like in English?
Yes. An obstakel can be a literal, physical thing blocking your path (like a fallen tree in the road) or a figurative hurdle (like a difficult grammar rule you are trying to overcome).
How would the word order change if I turned this into a hoewel (although) clause?
Since your current lesson is about hoewel, let's see how it affects this exact sentence! Hoewel introduces a sub-clause, which means it pushes the working verb to the very end. If you wanted to say 'Although I have trouble with this obstacle...', the verb heb moves to the back: Hoewel ik moeite met dit obstakel heb...
Learn Ik heb moeite met dit obstakel and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free