Dit voorkomt dat ik urenlang moet zoeken naar de juiste straat.

Breakdown of Dit voorkomt dat ik urenlang moet zoeken naar de juiste straat.

ik
I
naar
to
dat
that
moeten
must
dit
this
voorkomen
to prevent
urenlang
for hours
zoeken
to search
juist
right
de straat
the street
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Questions & Answers about Dit voorkomt dat ik urenlang moet zoeken naar de juiste straat.

What is the role of dat in this sentence?
Dat acts as a subordinating conjunction. It introduces the subordinate clause "ik urenlang moet zoeken naar de juiste straat" and links it with the main clause "Dit voorkomt." This connection shows what is being prevented.
Why is there no inversion of the subject and verb in the clause "ik urenlang moet zoeken"?
In Dutch, when a subordinate clause is introduced by a subordinating conjunction like dat, the clause maintains the standard subject–verb order. This is why the subject "ik" comes before the modal verb "moet", unlike in main clauses where inversion might occur.
How does the modal verb "moet" function in this sentence?
Moet is a modal verb that means "must" or "have to". It indicates an obligation or necessity—in this case, that without the measure mentioned in the main clause, the speaker would be forced to search for the correct street for hours.
What does urenlang mean, and how is it used here?
Urenlang is an adverb meaning "for hours". It modifies the verb phrase "moet zoeken", emphasizing that the searching would have lasted a long time if it hadn’t been prevented by the situation described in the main clause.
How is the phrase "naar de juiste straat" structured, and what does it signify?
Naar de juiste straat is a prepositional phrase. Naar means "to" or "for", de is the definite article "the", juiste translates as "right" or "correct", and straat means "street". The phrase specifies exactly which street the speaker would have had to search for if not for the prevention mentioned earlier.

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