Breakdown of Wij hebben respect voor haar drijfveer.
de drijfveer
the motive/the drive
het respect
the respect
Questions & Answers about Wij hebben respect voor haar drijfveer.
The word drijfveer translates to "motivation". What is the literal meaning of this compound word?
It is made up of drijven (to drive, push, or propel) and veer (a spring, like in a mechanical clock). Literally, it means a "driving spring" — the inner mechanism that pushes someone to act. Recognizing these physical root words makes abstract Dutch vocabulary much easier to remember at this level.
Why does the Dutch sentence use hebben respect voor instead of a single verb like the English "we respect"?
Dutch does have the direct verb respecteren (so you could absolutely say wij respecteren haar drijfveer), but using the noun phrase respect hebben voor (to have respect for) is extremely common and often sounds slightly more natural or conversational.
How would we rewrite this sentence using a pseudo-cleft structure to put the focus on the word respect?
To focus on respect, you create a wat-clause (which forces its verb to the end), and follow it with the main verb is and your focus. The sentence becomes: Wat wij voor haar drijfveer hebben, is respect. (What we have for her motivation, is respect).
If we wanted to emphasize haar drijfveer with a pseudo-cleft sentence instead, how does the preposition voor change the structure?
Normally, a pseudo-cleft clause starts with wat. However, because we are replacing the object of the preposition voor, wat + voor combines into the pronominal adverb waarvoor, which gets split up. The sentence becomes: Waar wij respect voor hebben, is haar drijfveer. (What we have respect for, is her motivation).
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