Breakdown of Hij neemt afscheid van het bedrijf.
het bedrijf
the company
afscheid nemen van
to say goodbye to
Questions & Answers about Hij neemt afscheid van het bedrijf.
Why does the sentence use neemt (takes) instead of a verb for "says"?
In Dutch, the standard expression for "saying goodbye" or "bidding farewell" is afscheid nemen. You literally "take" leave or farewell, so you must use the verb nemen rather than zeggen (to say).
Why is the preposition van used here, when the English translation says "to"?
Because the Dutch expression is afscheid nemen (to take leave), you are grammatically taking leave from someone or something. Therefore, this expression is always followed by van, even though we say goodbye to in English.
Can I use afscheid as a spoken greeting, like saying "Goodbye!" to a colleague?
No, afscheid is a noun meaning "a farewell" or "a parting," not a spoken greeting. If you are waving to your colleagues as you walk out the door, you would use actual greetings like tot ziens (see you later) or doei (bye).
How would I apply this lesson's grammar to say he is saying goodbye "in two months"?
You would use the preposition over and place the time phrase after the verb: Hij neemt over twee maanden afscheid van het bedrijf. In Dutch, over is used to mean "in [an amount of time]" when talking about the future.
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