Breakdown of De burgers verzetten zich tegen de belasting.
de burger
the citizen
de belasting
the tax
zich verzetten tegen
to resist / to oppose
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Dutch grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about De burgers verzetten zich tegen de belasting.
Why is the word zich used in this sentence?
In Dutch, the verb for to oppose or to resist is zich verzetten. It is a reflexive verb, meaning it requires a reflexive pronoun. Because de burgers is a third-person plural subject (they), the matching pronoun is zich. You must include it in Dutch, even though we don't say oppose themselves in English.
Why do we need tegen here? Doesn't verzetten already mean oppose?
The verb zich verzetten pairs with the fixed preposition tegen (against) to introduce the specific thing being opposed. While English simply says oppose the tax, Dutch essentially phrases it as resist themselves against the tax.
Since this lesson is about advice, how would I apply it here to say The citizens should oppose the tax?
You would use the structure from this lesson: zouden moeten. The sentence becomes: De burgers zouden zich tegen de belasting moeten verzetten. Notice how zich stays near the front, right after the conjugated verb zouden, while the infinitives moeten verzetten are pushed to the very end of the sentence.
Does the word belasting just mean tax?
In a financial context, yes. However, it comes from the verb belasten, which means to load or to burden. While belasting is the standard word for an official tax, its underlying meaning is a burden, and it is still used to mean a physical or mental load in other contexts.