Enerzijds droogt het droogbedrijf de muur, anderzijds gaat de schimmelvorming door.

Questions & Answers about Enerzijds droogt het droogbedrijf de muur, anderzijds gaat de schimmelvorming door.

What does enerzijds ... anderzijds mean, and how is it used?

It means on the one hand ... on the other hand.

It is used to present two contrasting facts, viewpoints, or sides of a situation. In this sentence, the contrast is:

  • Enerzijds: the drying company is drying the wall
  • Anderzijds: the mould growth is continuing

This pair is a bit more formal or written-sounding than everyday English-style on the one hand ... on the other hand. In less formal Dutch, people also often use:

  • aan de ene kant ... aan de andere kant

So enerzijds ... anderzijds is correct and common, especially in more formal speech and writing.

Why is the word order Enerzijds droogt het droogbedrijf de muur instead of Enerzijds het droogbedrijf droogt de muur?

This is because Dutch is a verb-second (V2) language in main clauses.

That means the finite verb must come in the second position of the clause. If you put something else first, such as enerzijds, the verb must come right after it.

So:

  • Het droogbedrijf droogt de muur.
    Subject first, verb second.

But when enerzijds is moved to the front:

  • Enerzijds droogt het droogbedrijf de muur.

Now the order is:

  1. Enerzijds
  2. droogt
  3. het droogbedrijf
  4. de muur

This is very normal Dutch word order.

What exactly does droogbedrijf mean?

Droogbedrijf is a compound noun:

  • droog = dry
  • bedrijf = company / business

So literally it means something like drying company. In context, it refers to a company that dries out buildings, walls, or spaces after water damage or damp problems.

A natural English translation might be:

  • drying company
  • dehumidification company
  • restoration company
    depending on context

Because the head word is bedrijf, the whole noun is het droogbedrijf.

Why is it het droogbedrijf but de muur and de schimmelvorming?

Dutch nouns have grammatical gender/article classes, and you usually have to learn them with the noun.

In this sentence:

  • het droogbedrijf → neuter noun (bedrijf takes het)
  • de muur → common-gender noun
  • de schimmelvorming → common-gender noun

A useful rule for compounds is:

  • the article is determined by the last part of the compound

So:

  • droog + bedrijfbedrijf is a het word, so het droogbedrijf
  • schimmel + vormingvorming is a de word, so de schimmelvorming
What does droogt mean here? Is it related to droog?

Yes. Droog means dry, and drogen is the verb to dry.

Here, droogt is the third-person singular present tense of drogen:

  • ik droog
  • jij droogt
  • hij/zij/het droogt

In this sentence, het droogbedrijf droogt de muur means the company dries the wall or is drying the wall out.

Dutch drogen can be:

  • intransitive: something dries
    • De muur droogt. = The wall is drying.
  • transitive: someone dries something
    • Het droogbedrijf droogt de muur. = The drying company dries the wall.
What is schimmelvorming?

Schimmelvorming is a compound noun meaning mould formation or mould growth.

It is made up of:

  • schimmel = mould / fungus
  • vorming = formation

So the sentence is talking about the process of mould developing or continuing to appear.

In English, mould growth is usually the most natural translation.

Why does the second part say gaat de schimmelvorming door? Why is door at the end?

This is because doorgaan is a separable verb.

  • doorgaan = to continue / to go on

In a main clause, the verb splits:

  • the finite part goes in the normal verb position
  • the particle goes to the end

So:

  • De schimmelvorming gaat door. = The mould growth continues.

When anderzijds is placed first, Dutch still keeps the finite verb second:

  • Anderzijds gaat de schimmelvorming door.

So:

  • gaat = finite verb part
  • door = separable particle

This is very common in Dutch with verbs like:

  • opstaanik sta op
  • meedoenhij doet mee
  • doorgaanhet gaat door
Does door here mean through?

Not by itself, no. Here door is part of the separable verb doorgaan.

So you should understand:

  • gaat ... door = continues / goes on

not:

  • goes through

This is an important thing in Dutch: words that look familiar on their own can have a different meaning when they are part of a separable verb.

Is enerzijds ... anderzijds always used as a pair?

Usually, yes. If you say enerzijds, the listener expects a matching anderzijds somewhere after it.

It works as a balancing pair:

  • Enerzijds ..., anderzijds ...

If you use only one of them, it can sound incomplete unless the contrast is already obvious from context.

Could you also say Aan de ene kant ... aan de andere kant instead?

Yes, absolutely.

These are very similar in meaning:

  • Enerzijds ..., anderzijds ...
  • Aan de ene kant ..., aan de andere kant ...

The second version often feels a bit more everyday and conversational. The version in your sentence is slightly more formal or polished.

So both are correct; the choice is mainly about style and register.

Why is there no extra word for still in anderzijds gaat de schimmelvorming door?

Because doorgaan already carries the idea of continuing.

So de schimmelvorming gaat door already means:

  • the mould growth continues
  • the mould growth is still going on

If you wanted, you could add nog steeds for extra emphasis:

  • Anderzijds gaat de schimmelvorming nog steeds door.

That would mean on the other hand, the mould growth is still continuing. But it is not necessary.

Can drogen and doorgaan both describe ongoing processes in the present tense?

Yes. Dutch often uses the simple present tense where English might use either the simple present or the present continuous.

So:

  • het droogbedrijf droogt de muur
  • de schimmelvorming gaat door

can naturally mean:

  • the company dries the wall
  • the company is drying the wall
  • the mould growth continues
  • the mould growth is continuing

The exact English translation depends on context, but the Dutch present tense is perfectly normal for both ideas here.

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