Diezelfde familieleden worden ook door onze vrienden omhelsd wanneer ze arriveren.

Those same family members are also hugged by our friends when they arrive.

Breakdown of Diezelfde familieleden worden ook door onze vrienden omhelsd wanneer ze arriveren.

• ook: too
• de vriend: the friend
• onze: our
• worden: to get
• wanneer: when
• ze: they
• door: by
• omhelzen: to hug
• het familielid: the family member

Questions & Answers about Diezelfde familieleden worden ook door onze vrienden omhelsd wanneer ze arriveren.

What does diezelfde mean in this sentence, and why is it used instead of dezelfde?

Diezelfde translates as “those very same” and emphasizes that it is exactly the specific family members already mentioned or implied. While dezelfde also means “the same,” using diezelfde adds a layer of emphasis and precision.

How is the passive voice constructed in this sentence, and what role does worden play?

The sentence uses the passive voice by having diezelfde familieleden as the subject that is acted upon. Worden is the auxiliary verb that forms the passive construction, similar to “are” in English. The past participle omhelsd follows, showing that the family members are being hugged by someone else.

What is the function of door onze vrienden in the sentence?

Door onze vrienden is an agent prepositional phrase that indicates who is performing the action. Translated as “by our friends,” it shows that our friends are the ones doing the hugging in this passive construction.

Why is omhelsd placed at the end of the main clause?

In Dutch sentence structure, non-finite verb forms like past participles are typically positioned at the end of the clause. Here, worden (the auxiliary verb) takes the second position while omhelsd, the past participle, is placed at the end, following standard word order rules in Dutch.

What does the subordinate clause wanneer ze arriveren indicate?

The subordinate clause wanneer ze arriveren specifies when the action takes place. It translates as “when they arrive,” with ze referring back to the aforementioned family members. This clause clarifies that the hugging occurs at the time of their arrival.

Why might a speaker choose to use arriveren instead of a more common alternative like aankomen?

Arriveren is often used in formal or international contexts and is a direct cognate of the English word “arrive.” Although aankomen is the more colloquial term for “to arrive” in Dutch, choosing arriveren can lend the sentence a formal tone or stylistic variation.