Het zekeringsapparaat is met de karabiner verbonden.

Because Dutch normally writes compound nouns as a single word.

So zekeringsapparaat is one compound:

• zekering = belaying / securing
• apparaat = device

English often uses separate words, like belay device, but Dutch usually combines them into one: zekeringsapparaat.

That -s- is a linking sound/letter often used in Dutch compounds.

So:

• zekering
  • apparaat becomes
• zekeringsapparaat

This -s- does not usually change the core meaning. It mostly helps the compound sound natural. Dutch has many compounds with this linking -s-, but it is not always fully predictable for learners, so it often has to be learned word by word.

Because apparaat is a het-word in Dutch, and the whole compound takes its gender from the last part of the compound.

The last part here is apparaat, which is neuter:

• het apparaat

So the full compound is:

• het zekeringsapparaat

This is a very useful rule: the article of a Dutch compound is usually determined by the final noun.

Because karabiner is a de-word.

In Dutch, singular nouns normally need an article or another determiner, so you say:

• de karabiner not just
• karabiner

For an English speaker, this can feel unusual because English can sometimes use a bare noun in technical language, but Dutch usually cannot do that with a singular countable noun.

It can look passive, but in this sentence it is most naturally understood as a resulting state: the belay device is connected.

Compare these:

• Het zekeringsapparaat wordt met de karabiner verbonden.
  = The device is being connected with the carabiner.
  This focuses on the action.

• Het zekeringsapparaat is met de karabiner verbonden.
  = The device is connected with the carabiner.
  This focuses on the state/result.

So is verbonden often functions like is connected, not necessarily is being connected.

Met is used because the sentence expresses that the device is connected with/by means of the carabiner.

So:

• met de karabiner verbonden = connected with the carabiner

This is the normal preposition in this kind of phrasing with verbonden when talking about a physical connection between things.

For an English speaker, this makes sense because English also often says connected with or connected to, but Dutch chooses prepositions a bit differently depending on the exact verb and construction.

Because door usually introduces the agent in a passive sentence: the person or thing that performs the action.

Example:

• De deur wordt door Jan geopend.
  = The door is opened by Jan.

But in your sentence, the carabiner is not really the doer in that sense. It is the object used in the connection. So met is the natural choice.

Also, as mentioned above, this sentence is mainly describing a state, not an action in progress.

Because Dutch often places the main participle or predicate adjective near the end of the clause.

Here the structure is:

• Het zekeringsapparaat = subject
• is = finite verb
• met de karabiner = prepositional phrase
• verbonden = participle/adjectival predicate

That final position is very normal in Dutch.

For English speakers, this can feel a bit backwards, because English would usually keep connected earlier:

• The belay device is connected with the carabiner.

Dutch often saves that key participle for the end.

Yes, that is also possible.

Both of these are acceptable:

• Het zekeringsapparaat is met de karabiner verbonden.
• Het zekeringsapparaat is verbonden met de karabiner.

The difference is mostly about rhythm, style, or emphasis. The version with verbonden at the very end can sound especially natural in formal or technical description, because Dutch often places complements before the final participle.

So as a learner, it is good to recognize both.

No. Verbonden can also be used in more abstract meanings, such as:

• emotionally connected
• associated with
• linked to
• affiliated with

For example:

• Hij is aan de universiteit verbonden.
  = He is affiliated with the university.

But in your sentence, because the subject is a device and the other noun is a carabiner, the meaning is clearly physical.

Using de suggests a specific, identifiable carabiner — probably the one already known in the context.

That is very common in instructions, descriptions, and technical writing. If the speaker means a particular carabiner in the setup, de karabiner is natural.

If you said:

• met een karabiner verbonden

that would mean connected with a carabiner, which is less specific.

Yes, it is a very useful combination to learn as a chunk.

Some Dutch expressions are easiest to remember together:

• verbonden met = connected with/to
• verbonden aan = connected to / affiliated with, depending on context

For physical objects, verbonden met is very common. Learning these as set patterns will help you sound more natural than translating word by word from English.