Word
Wij bidden vastberaden om voorspoed.
Meaning
We pray resolutely for prosperity.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Wij bidden vastberaden om voorspoed.
de voorspoed
the prosperity
vastberaden
determined
bidden
to pray
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Questions & Answers about Wij bidden vastberaden om voorspoed.
Why do we use om here instead of voor to mean "for"?
The verb bidden (to pray) takes the fixed preposition om when you are praying for something to happen or be given. This is a common pattern in Dutch for verbs of requesting; you'll also see it in vragen om (to ask for) and smeken om (to beg for).
Since this lesson is about the present subjunctive, is bidden a subjunctive form here?
No, wij bidden is just the standard present indicative (we pray). While plural subjunctive verbs do end in -en and would look identical to this, the present subjunctive in modern Dutch almost exclusively survives in fixed, formulaic third-person singular expressions (like Leve de koning! for "Long live the king!"). This sentence is a normal indicative statement.
How is the word vastberaden formed?
It is a compound of vast (firm/fixed) and beraden (deliberated/counseled). Someone who is vastberaden has made a firm, deliberate choice. In this sentence, the adjective functions as an adverb of manner, meaning "resolutely" or "determinedly".
I know spoed means "speed" or "urgency". How does voorspoed translate to "prosperity"?