Breakdown of Het dividend is laag ten opzichte van de winst.
het dividend
the dividend
ten opzichte van
relative to / compared with
Questions & Answers about Het dividend is laag ten opzichte van de winst.
What exactly does ten opzichte van mean, and is it mainly used in formal contexts?
It translates to "relative to" or "compared with". It is a formal complex preposition, which perfectly fits the financial vocabulary of this sentence. In a casual, everyday conversation, you would be much more likely to use vergeleken met (compared to).
Why is the word ten used here instead of a normal preposition like te?
Ten is a frozen remnant of the old Dutch case system. It is a contraction of the preposition te (at/to) and den (an old "dative" form of the article "the"). You don't need to learn the old grammar rules, but you should memorize ten (and its feminine equivalent, ter) as part of fixed formal chunks like ten opzichte van, ten aanzien van (with respect to), or ten koste van (at the expense of).
Does ten opzichte always require van at the end?
Yes, the van is strictly required. The literal, historical translation of the phrase is "to the respect of", so you must use van to connect the complex preposition to the noun that follows it (de winst).
Is it common to abbreviate ten opzichte van in writing?
Yes, very common! Because it is long and highly frequent in financial reports, news, and business contexts, you will frequently see it abbreviated as t.o.v. in written Dutch.
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